Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Sophomore Bella Mancini (Bellingham, Mass.) netted a career-high seven goals and two assists for nine points, as UMass Dartmouth notched a 12-5 season-opening victory over Elms in a non-league college women's lacrosse match played Friday afternoon at Cressy Field.
The host Corsairs (1-0) overcame an early 2-1 deficit thanks to Mancini, who scored five straight over an 18-minute stretch to help give UMass Dartmouth a 7-2 cushion at the break. The visiting Blazers (0-1) closed back to within three on tallies from sophomore Elese Ciarcia (Glastonbury, Conn.) and senior Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) in the opening 13:12 after intermission, but Mancini sparked a three-goal outburst with a pair of markers that extended the hosts' edge to six (10-4) with nine minutes remaining in the match. Richard's free position conversion with 7:54 proved to be the last goal of the day for Elms, and junior Emma Delacy (New Bedford, Mass.) and sophomore Hannah Niemi (Fairhaven, Mass.) capped the Corsair scoring with tallies in the final 97 seconds of action to account for the final margin.
Delacy netted a hat trick that included her first collegiate goal in the triumph for UMass Dartmouth, which received a pair of markers and two assists for four points from Niemi. Richard finished with a hat trick and a helper in the setback for the Blazers, who received a goal from freshman Taylor Borla (Southington, Conn.) along with two assists off the stick of sophomore Arianna Callahan (West Springfield, Mass.).
Senior Bridget Harrington (Florence, Mass.) collected the win in goal for the Corsairs with a three-save effort, while sophomore Sabrina Christie (Agawam, Mass.) made 16 stops in the setback for Elms. UMass Dartmouth outshot the Blazers by a 44-11 margin overall (28-8 on goal) and held a 14-5 advantage in draw controls for the contest.
UMass Dartmouth heads into Boston on Monday afternoon for a non-league match with Simmons beginning at 5:00 pm, while Elms travels to New Haven, Conn. on Wednesday afternoon for a non-league outing with Albertus Magnus that also begins at 5:00 pm.
(Photo Credit: Jack Holleran)
