Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Freshman Isabella Mancini (Bellingham, Mass.) netted a hat trick to back a 14-save effort in goal from senior Kaitlyn Burchill (Bridgewater, Mass.), as UMass Dartmouth overcame a late two-goal deficit to post an 11-9 non-league college women's lacrosse victory over Simmons Wednesday evening at Cressy Field.
The host Corsairs (4-5) rallied from a 6-5 halftime deficit to take a 7-6 lead on senior Angela Correia's (Bridgewater, Mass.) tally with 18:57 to play in the contest, but the visiting Sharks (5-5) struck for three scores in just 1:51 of action to grab a 9-7 advantage on sophomore Molly Reinhold's (Mystic, Conn.) marker with 16:45 remaining. UMass Dartmouth's comeback came with four goals in a 4:28 span, as junior Sam Muir (Sturbridge, Mass.) evened matters with 11:13 to play on a free position conversion before Mancini gave the hosts' the lead for good just 11 seconds later. Freshman Hannah Niemi (Fairhaven, Mass.) tacked on an insurance tally with 9:20 remaining to account for the final margin, and Burchill made that stand up with five crucial saves (including three free position shots) in the last eight plus minutes of action.
Muir and senior Brooke Scahill (Gales Ferry, Conn.) each added two goals on the night for the Corsairs, who received a marker and helper from Niemi along with the first collegiate tallies from the duo of junior Courtnee Nagim-Chase (Mattapan, Mass.) and freshman Kara McLaughlin (Hanover, Mass.). Senior Brooke Martel (Haverhill, Mass.) added an assist for UMass Dartmouth, as Burchill made eight second half stops en route to her third victory of the season.
Reinhold netted four goals and an assist to finish with five points in the setback for Simmons, which received two tallies and a helper from junior Kingsley Richards (Lexington, Mass.) along with a pair of goals off the stick of senior Mallory Cottam (Hope, R.I.). Senior Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) accounted for the other score of the night for the Sharks, who received assists from senior Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) and freshman Lily Devitt (Belmont, Mass.) to go with a six-save effort in net from sophomore Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.). Simmons outshot UMass Dartmouth by a 34-21 margin overall (23-17 on goal), and the Sharks held a 15-7 edge in draw controls in the first meeting between the two schools.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Eastern Connecticut in a Little East Conference clash on Saturday afternoon at Cressy Field beginning at 3:00 pm, while Simmons will be idle until next Wednesday, April 10th when the Sharks entertain Lasell in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match in Boston that begins at 7:00 pm.
(Photo Credit: Lyrik Gelmete '21)
