March 29, 2012

Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. - The duo of senior Krista-Jean Forand (Plymouth, Mass.) and freshman Grace Murphy (Montclair, Va.) combined to score 14 goals as Nichols defeated Emmanuel 20-9 on Thursday night in a non-conference women's lacrosse tilt at Vendetti Field. The Bison improve to 2-3 with the win, while the Saints slip to 2-5overall with the loss.

Forand led all players with eight goals while accounting for five draw controls. Murphy found the back of the net six times and controlled seven draws while collecting three ground balls. First-year Sam MacMillan (Bridgewater, Mass.) and senior Emily Yourie (Ellington, Conn.) each netted a pair of goals as Yourie came up with five draw controls and five ground balls to go along with a trio of caused turnovers. First-year Stephanie Matthewson (Simsbury, Conn.) corralled seven ground balls as sophomore Julie Monroe (Whitman, Mass.) chipped in with four.

All four Saints scorers had at least a pair of goals and were led by rookie Alexia Basile (West Hartford, Conn.) with three. Classmate Johanna Fieldman (Wilmington, Del.) paced the visitors with four ground balls while sophomore Michaela Brennan (Worcester, Mass.) claimed three and caused a pair of turnovers.

Junior Madeline Leahy (Cohasset, Mass.) started things off 1:16 into the game with an unassisted marker for the Saints. Forand then deposited her first two goals for the Bison before Leahy sparked the Emmanuel offense once again to begin a run of three straight Saints markers. Nichols reeled off the next four goals to claim a 6-4 lead. Emmanuel then knotted the game at 6-6 on a tally by freshman Marykate McNulty (Madison, Conn.) with 2:22 remaining in the half. Monroe closed out the half with a score with 67 ticks left in the stanza.

Nichols pulled away in the second half beginning with a marker by Yourie at 1:17. Over the next 8:51 Forand, Murphy and MacMillan each had a hand in the Bison outburst that saw the hosts ahead 14-6 with just over 20 minutes left in the half. The spree was broken up by a marker by Basile with 18:22 remaining. Murphy responded for the Bison 19 seconds later before rookie Madison Altwies (Southington, Conn.) answered back with 17:28 showing on the scoreboard. Murphy began and ended a 4-1 spurt as the last goal signal came with 1:47 to go.

Senior Danielle Mott (Cranston, R.I.) picked up her first win of the season for the Bison as she amassed four saves in a relief effort. Sophomore Hillary Dandurant (Merrimac, Mass.) stopped 14 shots in the defeat.

Nichols completes a three-game homestand on Saturday when the Bison host Mount Ida in an 11:30 a.m. contest. Emmanuel ventures back into Worcester County on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. GNAC matchup at Anna Maria.

- Courtesy of Nichols College Sports Information