NEW LONDON, N.H. – Scoring nine goals in the opening half on Wednesday afternoon, Emmanuel women's lacrosse jumped out to an early lead they never surrendered, defeating the Colby-Sawyer Chargers 14-9 at Chargers Field in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division play.

The Saints break a two-game losing skid while staying perfect in conference play, moving their record to 4-5 (3-0 GNAC, 2-0 GNAC North). The Chargers fall to 5-3 (2-2 GNAC, 1-1 GNAC North) as they drop their second straight game.

Emmanuel came out of the gates seemingly unable to miss, scoring eight of the first nine goals on Wednesday. Junior Madeline Wright, senior Abby Brown, and first-year Emilia Ferraro opened the scoring, giving the Saints a 3-0 lead. After Chargers sophomore Rose Finlayson broke into the scoring column, the Saints answered back with five consecutive tallies.

Wright finished off a first quarter hat trick with a pair of goals scored 46 seconds apart. Junior Ella Marschitz opened the scoring in the second quarter, giving the Saints a 6-1 lead. Lastly, first-year Anna Nichols finished the scoring run with consecutive goals, leading to the Saints 8-1 edge.

Trailing 9-3 at the half, the Chargers made a run early in the third quarter, scoring four goals in 10 minutes while holding the Saints scoreless, cutting the deficit to 9-7. But the Saints answered back in the final minute of the third with Nichols and junior Avery Robillard scoring in a 26-second span, giving Emmanuel an 11-7 lead, heading to the fourth.

Colby-Sawyer could only get as close as three, as the Saints used a 3-2 fourth quarter to hold off the Chargers in Emmanuel's 14-9 win.

Wright finished with five goals but dominated all over the field with eight draw controls, seven ground balls, and seven caused turnovers. Nichols finished with a career-high four goals, adding three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Senior Delaney Brown came away with a team-high eight caused turnovers.

Chargers first-year Lauren Vignola finished with a team-high four goals while Finlayson netted a pair for Colby-Sawyer. Junior Cecilia Ponzini added two goals and two assists in the loss.

The Saints return to Clemente Field on Saturday, March 29, as they host Anna Maria at 11:00 a.m. The Chargers carry on with a trip to Rivier on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. faceoff.