WLAX Falls to New England College

WLAX Falls to New England College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's lacrosse team dropped a 23-7 decision to New England College on Saturday afternoon in a New England Collegiate Conference showdown at Alumni Field.

Tara Bainbridge led all scorers with nine goals and two assists as NEC improved to 6-3 overall and 2-0 in the league. Alana Scott added three goals and two assists, one of six Pilgrims who netted multiple goals in the contest.

Kate McCormack paced Mitchell (1-5 overall, 0-2 NECC) with five goals and one assist while Francesca Pinard and Hannah Corrigan chipped in a goal apiece.

NEC scored the first four goals of the contest as Bainbridge tallied twice in the opening two minutes. After McCormack put the Mariners on the scoreboard with her first of the day, the Pilgrims quickly added two more scores to go up 6-1 with 20:25 remaining in the half.

The visitors closed out the half strong, scoring six straight goals in the final 11:04 of the stanza to take a commanding 18-5 lead into the break. Bainbridge scored four times during the stretch and finished with nine goals in the half.

The scoring slowed in the second half, though the Pilgrims still held a 5-2 advantage over the final 30 minutes. Meghan Oliver supplied the game's final tally and gave NEC its ninth goal scorer of the day.

Lauren Rich finished with a game-high 14 draw controls and also grabbed three ground balls. Kaitlyn Berry led all players with nine ground balls.

Ashley Coughlin and McKenzie Gallasso split time in goal for NEC, each recording a save in 30 minutes of action. Gillian MacLellan made a season-high 19 stops for the Mariners.

Mitchell will next play at Elms College on Saturday, April 13 at 11 a.m. NEC returns to action at home against Albertus Magnus College on Monday, April 8 at 5 p.m.