Lacroix's Career-High Seven Points Powers Gulls To 18-11 Win At UNE

BIDDEFORD, Maine. — Freshman midfielder Jennifer Lacroix's (Wrentham, Mass.) career-high six goals and one assist helped the Endicott women's lacrosse team defeat University of New England, 18-11, Wednesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on a chilly night at the Big Blue Turf.

Lacroix accounted for one-third of the Gulls' offensive output as she scored a six of Endicott's season-high 18 goals and won a game-high/career-high 10 draw controls.

Senior attack Meghan Lennon (Canton, Mass.) struck first with 21:09 ticks left in the opening stanza to give the Gulls an early 1-0 advantage on a feed from senior midfielder Emily Whitney (Rye, N.H.).

A first half hat trick and a fourth marker from Lacroix and a pair of tallies from junior midfielder Olivia Larson's (Cheshire, Conn.) and Lennon again, sent Endicott into the break up, 8-0.

Trailing 10-0, UNE's sophomore attack Nichole Carvalho (South Kingstown, R.I.) registered a man-down goal to light up the scoreboard for the Nor'easters with 23:06 remaining in the game.

Endicott led by as much as nine, up 11-2 with 22:31 remaining in the game, but UNE was able to storm back to cut the deficit to as low as four (14-10) with 4:54 left.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Sophomore goalie Bella Rino (Northborough, Mass.) made her second career start in goal (2-0) and earned her second straight win as she made six saves and allowed just one goal before giving way to senior Maura Grady (Marblehead, Mass.) with 23:06 to go in the game.
• Grady made five saves in the relief effort.
• Lacroix and Lennon tied for a season-high with seven points apiece tonight.
• Lennon registered a season-high five goals to bring her total to 20, one-shy of the team lead.
• Lacroix's 10 draw controls is a new season-high for the Gulls so far this year, and ranks in a tie for fifth-most in a single game all-time for the Gulls.
• Larson and sophomore attack Jackie Neilsen (Agawam, Mass.) each potted a pair of goals, while Whitney, sophomore midfielder Ali Campbell (Lakeville, Mass.) and freshman attack Meghan Dutchyshyn (Cheshire, Conn.) all buried one marker.
• Whitney dished out a game-best three assists (personal season-high and tied team season-most), while also scooping up a game-high five ground balls and tying for a game-high two caused turnovers.
• Lennon and Campbell each added two assists, while Lacroix notched one.
• Endicott shut a team out for the second time in a half all year (first half against Keene State.)

FOR THE FOES

• UNE outscored Endicott, 11-10, in the second half after being shut out in a single half all year.
• The Nor'easters were led in scoring by sophomore midfielder Korinne Bohunsky's (Eliot, Maine) hat trick.
• Senior midfielder Kimberly Gosselin (Concord, N.H.), senior midfielder Jocelyn Davee (Freeport, Maine), and Carvalho each registered a pair of goals, while first-year attack Anna Stowell (Sutton, N.H.) and  senior attack Brooke Kelleher (Exeter, N.H.) rounded out the offense.
• Defensively, Gosselin scooped up a team-high four ground balls and junior defender Jolena Lampron (Lyman, Maine) won a team-high eight draw controls.
• Sophomore goalie Maritza Nary (Dover, N.H.) fell to 4-5 on the season as she stopped seven shots in the defeat.

NOTES

• The Gulls are 18-5 all-time and 8-3 on the road all-time against UNE, dating back to the 2001 season.
• Endicott has won 18 straight against the Nor'easters, including a 14-10 victory in Beverly, Mass. in the most recent meeting before today on May 4, 2016 in the CCC Semifinals.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (5-3, 2-0 CCC)  travels to Boston, Mass. on Saturday, April 1 to face Wentworth at 12:00 p.m.

UNE (4-5, 1-1 CCC) goes on the road at Western New England on Saturday, April 1 at 1:00 p.m.

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(Photo Credit - Jon Santer)