NEW LONDON, N.H. - The New England College women's lacrosse team battled Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) intrastate rival Colby-Sawyer College on a foggy Tuesday night, coming up short 16-5. 

The teams battled in the opening quarter until Cecilia Ponzini broke the deadlock at the 7:40 mark, giving the Chargers a 1-0 lead. Colby-Sawyer kept the pressure on, adding four more goals to take a 5-0 lead into the second quarter. 

Junior Alexis Hornsby (Atkinson, N.H.) set up sophomore Riley Davis (Weare, N.H.), who scored to get the 'Grims on the board in the second quarter. Minutes later, freshman Sydney Bailey (Boscawen, N.H.) connected with freshman Camryn Coutts (Gilford, N.H.), who finished trimming the lead to three. CSC continued to apply pressure with shots on frame, but freshman goalkeeper Tatum Villa (Framingham, Mass.) came up with the saves. The Chargers found the net twice more to extend their advantage heading into halftime. 

Colby-Sawyer struck less than three minutes into the third quarter to extend their lead, but Hornsby answered, setting up Davis for her second goal of the game. The Chargers responded late in the quarter, pushing their advantage to six, before Hornsby found the net for the Pilgrims. 

Rose Finlayson extended the Chargers' lead to six just 30 seconds into the final quarter, but Davis answered with her third goal of the night, completing the hat trick off an assist from junior Carmela Goodwin (Lebanon, N.H.). CSC maintained its offensive surge, adding six more goals down the stretch to seal a 16-5 victory over the Pilgrims. 

Davis led the way with three goals, adding two ground balls and three caused turnovers, while Hornsby tallied a goal and two assists to go with three ground balls, one draw control, and three caused turnovers. Senior Meadow Gilchrist (Stamford, Conn.) and sophomore Jamie Blondin (Oakville, Ont.) each recorded three draw controls. Villa finished the night with 10 saves, two ground balls, and one caused turnover.

The 'Grims hit the road on Thursday to face conference opponent University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at 6:00 PM in West Hartford, Connecticut. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.