Last Second Goal Lifts Women’s Lacrosse to 15-14 Victory over Bridgewater State

Framingham, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's lacrosse team received a goal from sophomore Nicole Pacheco (Woburn, Mass.) with 36 seconds remaining to defeat Bridgewater State University 15-14 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this morning at Maple Street Field.

With the win, the Rams have won nine straight and have defeated the Bears for the first time in 10 meetings for women's lacrosse. The Rams are now 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in the league, while the Bears fall to 7-4 overall and 1-1 in the MASCAC.

Pacheco paced the Rams offensively with five goals, an assist and four draw controls, while senior Kimmy Foley (Mansfield, Mass.) added two goals, two helpers, two ground balls and four draw controls.  Freshman Hanna McMahon (Watertown, Mass.) also tallied a pair of markers, while classmate Alissa Marino (Trumbull, Conn.) chipped in with two goals and an assist.  Sophomore Grace Gamache (Dartmouth, Mass.) found the back of the net once and dished out a game-best six assists.

The Bears were paced by three goals and three assists from sophomore Victoria McDonough (Marshfield, Mass.), while senior Gabby Reinold (Braintree, Mass.) tallied three goals with three ground balls.  Junior Elizabeth Ettridge (Marshfield, Mass.), junior Mackenzie Manning (Hingham, Mass.) and senior Brooke Buckner (Foxboro, Mass.) tallied two goals apiece for the Bears.

Bridgewater State opened up a 6-2 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Rams closed the frame with six straight goals including a pair from Pacheco to take an 8-6 lead at the half.

Bridgewater State tallied two in the opening minutes to tie the game, before the Rams scored two straight including one from Gamache and one from Pacheco to take a 10-8 lead.  The Bears answered with two of their own from Ettridge and McDonough to knot the score at 10-10.

The two teams would trade goals over the final 17 minutes of the game with neither team leading by more than.  Senior Kristen Keenan (Methuen, Mass.) converted off a pass from Gamache to put the Rams up 14-13 with 4:32 on the clock.

The Bears tied the game with 1:45 remaining on an unassisted marker by Reinold.   The Bears called timeout, but the Rams won the ensuing draw control and worked the clock down until Gamache found Pacheco for the go ahead goal with 36 seconds remaining.  Gamache won the ensuing draw control for the Rams and after a timeout the Rams were able to run the clock out and secure the victory.

The Rams outshot the Bears 38-25 in the contest and held a 21-10 edge in draw controls.  Junior Indigo Fox Tree-McGrath (Bedford, Mass.) earned the victory in net making seven saves, while Hayley Barner (Westwood, Mass.) took the loss despite making 17 stops.

The Rams are back in action on Friday night when they host Fitchburg State at 5:30 p.m.