DUDLEY, Mass. - Sophomores Alyssa Bufis (Linden, N.J.) and Grace Murphy (Montclair, Va.) each scored two goals for Nichols College, which suffered a 13-6 loss to Curry College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) women's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Vendetti Field.
Senior Ana Bottary (Hull, Mass.) racked up six points (4-2-6) for the Colonels (10-3, 3-2 CCC) while junior Haley Carey (New Milford, Conn.) potted three goals and juniors Mel Brickey (Chelmsford, Mass.) and Deanna Monfredo (West Islip, N.Y.) each scored twice. Curry outshot Nichols 31-27 on the afternoon.
The Colonels built a 4-1 lead behind goals from goals from Bottary, Carey, Monfredo, and junior Kaitlin Cloutier (Montpelier, Vt.) 17:05 into the first half. Murphy’s free position goal at 12:35 cut the Bison deficit in half (4-2) before the Colonels closed the half with three-straight goals to move in front 7-2 at halftime. Carey started the run with her 49th marker of the season at 9:30, followed by goals from freshman Alexis Cran (Branford, Conn.) at 7:17 and one from Brickey at 3:07.
Nichols reeled off three-straight to open the second half and make it a 7-5 game as sophomore Sam MacMillan (Bridgewater, Mass.), senior Shayna Ramalho (Monroe, Conn.), and Bufis each beat goalkeeper Christina Wallis (Peabody, Mass.) in the opening 10:45. Curry answered by scoring six of the final seven goals – including three from Bottary – to seal the win.
Freshman AnneMarie Fana (Lawrence, Mass.) recorded 11 saves to fall to 3-9 on the season. Wallis, meanwhile, was credited with 12 saves as she improved to 7-2 on the season. Nichols sophomore Stephanie Mathewson (Simsbury, Conn.) led all student-athletes with eight ground balls while both Murphy and senior Darcy Russell (Uncasville, Conn.) each caused three turnovers. Brickey led the visitors in ground balls (seven) and caused turnovers (three).
The Bison return to action next Saturday when they head to Endicott for a noon contest. The Colonels face Salve Regina in Middletown, R.I. on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. (Game Recap Courtesy of Nichols Sports Information)
