SPRINGFIELD, Mass.– The Western New England University women's lacrosse team opened Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) play with a 15-10 victory over Curry College on Tuesday evening at Golden Bear Stadium.

Top Performers

• Freshman Ashley Hudson (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) led the Golden Bears offensively, as she broke out for a season-high five points with four goals and one assist.

• Sophomore Lindsey Phillips (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored four goals and collected a team-high six draw controls, while freshman Reilly Miller (Goshen, N.Y.) contributed three goals and one assist, and sophomore Eileen Ruby (New Fairfield, Conn.) registered her first career hat trick.

• Freshman Danielle Skates (Berlin, Conn.) chipped in with one goal, one assist, two ground balls and four caused turnovers.

• Curry freshman Katie Parker (Branford, Conn.) paced the Colonels with a game-high six goals, while sophomore Abby Dubel (Wolfeboro, N.H.) finished with three goals, six ground balls, six draw controls and three caused turnovers.

Game Review

Dubel gave the Colonels their only lead on a free position goal 23 seconds into the contest. Phillips answered for the Golden Bears with a free position strike of her own at the 23:31 mark, and Hudson gave Western a 2-1 edge 57 seconds later.

Curry tied the contest at 2-2 on a goal by sophomore Abigail Roy (Nashua, N.H.) with 18:43 remaining in the opening half, but Western New England took control from there.

Skates scored on a feed from Hudson with 16:53 on the clock, sparking a 7-0 run to close out the half as the Golden Bears established a 9-2 advantage at the break. Phillips and Ruby fueled the spurt with two goals each, while Ruby buried a free position attempt at the buzzer to cap the run.

Curry fought its way back into the game with four straight goals to open the second half, three of which were scored by Parker, to cut the visitors' deficit to three (9-6).

The Golden Bears never allowed the Colonels to get closer, however, as they scored three of the next four goals to open up a 12-7 cushion with 8:35 to play, before going on to win by the same margin.

Notes

• The Golden Bears outshot the Colonels 33-26, but Curry held a 27-25 edge in ground balls.

• Both teams scored five free position goals, as Western New England converted 5-of-8 attempts and Curry went 5-for-11.

• Western New England senior goalie Shannon McFadden (West Islip, N.Y.) and Curry freshman Amy Collard (Lakeville, Mass.) finished with ten and 11 saves, respectively.  

Up Next

Western New England (1-6, 1-0 CCC) will be back in action on Thursday, as the Golden Bears host Bridgewater State in a non-conference contest at 4 p.m. Curry (2-3, 0-1 CCC) is also in action on Thursday at Worcester State. (Game Recap Courtesy of Western New England Sports Information)