MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College Women's lacrosse team defeated Salem State, 15-9 in non-conference action Thursday afternoon at the Walter M. Katz Field. The victory marked the 200th career-win for Head Coach Caitlin Roberts.
With the win the Colonels improve to 1-0 on the season while the loss drops the Vikings to 0-2 overall.
Curry was led by a six-point effort from senior Malorie Knowlton (Norfolk, Mass.). Knowlton tallied four goals and dished out two assists. She also caused four turnovers and collected four groundballs.
Knowlton was followed by senior Kelly Parker (Branford, Conn.) and freshman Abby Dubel (Wolfeboro, N.H.) who each finished with four points. Parker tallied three goals and helped on one and Dubel had four goals. Senior Lauren Carroll (Providence, R.I.) netted a hat trick for three points while senior Rachael Lawrence (Hanover, Mass.) had one tally and an assist. Freshman Abby Guilfoil (Nashua, N.H.) had one helper.
The Vikings were led by junior Courtney Smith (Peabody, Mass.) and freshman Kaitlynn Palmer (Verona, N.Y.) who both finished with four points. Smith netted four goals while Palmer enjoyed a hat trick and a helper. Senior Carolyn Woodin (Arlington, Mass.) had three points on two tallies and one assist.
Salem got on the board first 3:26 into the opening frame on an unassisted goal by Woodin. Curry netted the next three for a 4-1 lead off two tallies from Parker and one from Carroll. Salem answered back with two of their own from Woodin and Smith to tie the game at 11:52. However the Colonels scored another three to take back the lead. Curry got goals from Knowlton, Dubel and Parker. Salem's Palmer netted the final score with just 46 seconds left in the half to head into intermission with a 6-4 score in favor of the host team.
The Colonels started the second period scoring five unanswered goals before the Vikings stopped the run at 15:50. Knowlton netted three of the five while Carroll and Lawrence each had one. Smith stopped the bleeding for Salem. Dubel answered back to extend Curry's lead by five. At the 7:46 minute mark Palmer earned her second on the day and just 25 seconds later Dubel netted her third for a hat trick. In the final four minutes the Vikings outscored the Colonels 4-1 but it wasn't enough for the win as Curry held on for the 15-9 victory. The Colonels got a goal from Carroll and Dubel while the Vikings got two goals from Smith and one from Palmer.
Senior goalkeeper Rachel Smith (Arlington, Mass.) recorded six saves for her first win in net. Freshman Karlie McLear (Paxton, Mass.) made and impressive 14 stops in goal while dropping her record to 0-2.
Curry returns to action Thursday as they travel to Lasell College for another non-conference matchup slated for 3:30 p.m. Salem is set to travel to Regis College on Saturday, March 18 for a 12:00 p.m game.
