Women's Lacrosse Edges Lasell, 15-13

BRIDGEWATER. Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team withstood a second half comeback bid as the Bears edged visiting Lasell College, 15-13, on Wednesday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The host Bears improve to 2-1 on the young season with the win, while the Lasers slip to 1-3.

Freshman midfielder Alex King (Weymouth, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with a game-high six goals.  Senior midfielder Taylor Clancy (Braintree, Mass.) added three goals and two assists, while senior attack Melanie Appleman (Hyannis, Mass.) chipped in with three goals and an assist.  Clancy also finished with seven draws and three caused turnovers.

Trailing 14-8 with just under 22 minutes remaining in the contest, Lasell reeled off four straight goals and held Bridgewater scoreless for more than 18 minutes.  Senior attack Britney Wuorio (Bolton, Mass.), who finished with a team-best four goals and two assists, scored twice during the run including a marker with 3:58 left to play to make it a two-goal game (14-12).

Off the ensuing draw, Clancy ended the Bears' scoring drought with an unassisted tally to push BSU's advantage to 15-12.

The Lasers, however, would not go away as junior attack Caitlyn Brecher (Cheshire, Ct.) scored on a free position attempt at the 1:55 mark to again cut the deficit to two (15-13). Brecher finished with three goals on the afternoon.

Lasell had a glittering opportunity to pull to within a goal on a free position attempt with 1:11 left to play, but BSU back-up netminder Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) came up with a big save and the Bears would hold on for the win.

Bridgewater led 11-6 at the break with King tallying four goals over the first thirty minutes. Appleman scored three times and Clancy found the back of the net twice in the opening stanza.

A goal by freshman midfielder Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) and two by King over the first eight minutes of the second half helped stake the Bears to the 14-8 lead. 

Bridgewater held a 28-24 shot advantage for the game as well as a 16-14 edge in draws. Turnovers were even at 17 apiece, while Lasell finished with 18 ground balls compared to 11 for the Bears.

The Lasers converted 2 of 6 free position attempts while the Bears went 0-for-3.

Forman and sophomore Chandler Ross (Wrentham, Mass.) combined to make seven saves between the pipes for Bridgewater with Ross picking up her second win of the season.

Junior Alexa Katsigianis (Amherst, N.H.) and freshman Brooke Bergeron (Swampscott, Mass.) combined for nine saves.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday at one.  The Bears travel to the University of New England, while the Lasers host Nichols College. 

Notes: With her three goals, Clancy moved into a tie for eighth place on the Bears' career goal scoring list as she now has 120 in four seasons at Bridgewater State.