DUDLEY, Mass. – The Western New England College women’s lacrosse team closed out the regular season with a 20-1 victory over Nichols in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference game at Vendetti Field Wednesday evening. Led by six goals from Michelle Thompson, the Golden Bears improve to 10-6 overall and 7-2 in TCCC games. Nichols, which received its lone goal from Brittany Tremont (Guilford, Conn.), falls to 3-9 overall and 0-8 in TCCC action.
Taryn Lagasse chipped in with four goals and an assist while Katie Toomy added three scored. Lindsey Fenton and Cougar Moynihan each scored a pair of goals, and Nicole Squadrito chipped in with three points on a goal and two assists.
Tremont led the Bison with three draw controls, while goalkeeper Mary Michaud (Agawam, Mass.) picked up a game-high five groundballs.
Western New England held a 5-0 lead within the first seven minutes, and closed the first half with a pair of man-up scores to hold a 13-0 advantage at the break.
The Golden Bears scored six unanswered tallies before Tremont snagged a draw control and sped downfield for a quick goal with 5:40 remaining in the game.
Lagasse capped the scoring with a late free-position goal, finishing the night 2-for-2 in free-position attempts. As a team, the Golden Bears were 3-for-10.
Michaud made 12 saves for the Bison, while a trio of goaltenders saw action for the visitors. Starter Marissa Bonitatibus earned the win with one save in just under seven minutes before giving way to Brie Sylvia, who stopped three shots in 36 minutes of action. Erin Doherty allowed one goal on one shot in the final 17 minutes.
WNEC held a 45-6 shot advantage and maintained an 18-5 lead in draw controls, led by 13 draws from TCCC leader Marisa Hebert.
Nichols travels to Rhode Island College Thursday for a 4 p.m. non-conference matchup before returning home to host University of New England Saturday at 2 p.m. in both teams’ TCCC finale. WNEC awaits the TCCC postseason tournament pairings. The quarterfinal round is slated for Tuesday, April 28.
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