Women’s Lacrosse Pulls Away for Season-Opening Win

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Regis College quickly jumped on the scoreboard in each half, establishing a lead in the first half and then pulling away in the second half for a 20-8 victory over Fitchburg State Thursday evening in a non-conference women's collegiate lacrosse match at Elliot Field.

Kerri Anselmo (Natick, Mass.) notched a new career high for goals in a single match, scoring seven times, plus she added four assists to tie her career best with 11 points. Rachel Nadeau (Coventry, Conn.) also enjoyed a career-best scoring performance with five goals, and Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) added four goals and one assist to tie her career high with five points.

It took just 1:25 for Regis to strike, as Anselmo scored the Pride's first goal of the season on a free position attempt. Fitchburg State won the ensuing draw control, and Nicole Kopacz was able to sling the ball into the net to tie the match at 1-1.

Anselmo won the next draw control, raced down the field, and collected her second goal of the day to put Regis back on top. The action settled down for a few minutes, and then Amelia Thomas (Hopkinton, N.H.) earned her first collegiate goal to increase the Pride lead to 3-1 six minutes into the contest.

The Pride continued to apply offensive pressure, leading to goals by Ringuette and Nadeau 27 seconds apart to extend the Regis advantage to 5-1. The Falcons scored three of the next four goals, including two goals by Eva Kozikowski and two assists from Madison Alves, to close to within two at 6-4, but Anselmo and Nadeau scored 48 seconds apart late in the first half as Regis eventually went into halftime with an 8-5 advantage.

Anselmo found Ringuette for a goal just 51 seconds into the second half, followed by two goals from Nadeau in the span of 53 seconds and another tally from Anselmo. The Falcons made one final push by scoring three unanswered goals in the span of just over two minutes to pull within four at 12-8 with 18:44 remaining in the second half.

The Pride put the match away by scoring the final eight goals of the contest, starting with consecutive goals by Anselmo. Thomas picked up her second goal of the match, and then Ringuette earned back-to-back goals off Anselmo assists. Brooke Ross (Hanover, Mass.) and Bridget Dowling (Hanover, Mass.) each collected their first goal of the season, and then Nadeau closed out the scoring with one more tally.

Brittany McPherson (Lynn, Mass.) made 11 saves, her 10^th career match with at least 10 saves, as she posted a save percentage of 57.9 percent. Besides her offensive totals, Anselmo also led the Pride with six draw controls and three caused turnovers, while Bella Oliver (Sagamore Beach, Mass.) led the team with five groundballs.

Kozikowski led the Falcon offense with two goals and two assists, while Kopacz finished with six groundballs and six caused turnovers, leading her team in both categories. Gabrielle Scibilia picked up five draw controls for Fitchburg State, and Francesca Reyes earned 11 saves in net.

In a schedule change brought about by the current weekend forecast, Regis College (1-0) will now play on consecutive days, making the trip to Waterville, Maine, to face Thomas College tomorrow, March 6, starting at 4 p.m. The Pride and Terriers were scheduled to clash Saturday, but that day's outlook calls for temperatures too cold in which to compete.