HENNIKER, N.H. - The New England College women's lacrosse team dropped a hard-fought 12-11 decision at home Wednesday afternoon against Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Emmanuel College.
Ella Stein opened the scoring for Emmanuel, but sophomore Riley Davis (Weare, N.H.) responded less than a minute later to even the game at 1-1. Madeline Wright capitalized on a man-up opportunity to restore the Saints' lead, followed by Stein adding her second goal on a free-position shot to extend their lead to 3-1. NEC generated chances late in the quarter, but were not able to close the gap.
The Pilgrims continued to battle in the second frame with junior Alexis Hornsby (Atkinson, N.H.) scoring at the 10:40 mark to pull the 'Grims within one. Stein, however, completed her hat trick on a man-up opportunity just over a minute later to extend the lead. A goal from Delaney Johnston pushed the Saints' lead to three before senior Meadow Gilchrist (Stamford, Conn.) connected with sophomore Lilly Vaughn (Belmont, N.H.) to cut the lead to two. Emmanuel added a late goal to push their lead back to three, but senior Mackenzie McDonald (Boscawen, N.H.) answered before halftime, sending NEC into the break trailing by two.
Anna Nichols opened the second half scoring to give Emmanuel a three-goal cushion, but the Pilgrims refused to back down. Junior Carmela Goodwin (Lebanon, N.H.) converted a free-position shot, and Gilchrist followed with a goal to make it a one-goal game, forcing a Saints' timeout. Emmanuel responded out of the break to regain a two-goal edge, but Davis later scored on a free-position attempt to trim the lead. Emmanuel added a goal in the final seconds to give the visitors a 9-7 advantage heading into the fourth.
The 'Grims surged in the final quarter, taking their first lead of the game with 11:37 remaining behind two goals from Davis and additional tallies from Gilchrist and Vaughn. However, Wright answered for Emmanuel just two minutes later and went on to score twice more, completing a late-game push that secured the 12-11 victory.
Davis led NEC with four goals and added three draw controls, while Gilchrist posted a five-point performance on two goals and three assists along with two caused turnovers. Hornsby added a team-high five draw controls and chipped in two caused turnovers, two ground balls, and a goal. McDonald contributed five draw controls, two assists, and a goal. Freshman goalkeeper Tatum Villa (Framingham, Mass.) made eight saves in net and added four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
The Pilgrims travel to Franklin, Massachusetts on Saturday to take on GNAC opponent Dean College at 3:30 PM.
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