WENHAM, Mass.—Big runs in the first and second halves pushed visiting UNE to a 15-13 win over Gordon Women's Lacrosse on Wednesday afternoon. The Fighting Scots made things interesting in the final five minutes with a late rally, but it fell just short to give the surging Nor'easters the win.
The University of New England improves their ledger to 8-6 overall, but more importantly 5-1 in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Gordon drops its third straight CCC game after a 3-0 start and sits at the same 8-6 overall mark.
The Nor'easters looked poised to pull away early with two goals in the first two minutes and change. Nichole Carvalho (South Kingston, R.I.) opened the scoring in the first minute before Anna Stowell (Sutton, N.H.) added her 33rd of the season on a pass from Jocelyn Davee (Freeport, Maine).
Not to be deterred, Gordon rumbled to three consecutive goals in a five-minute span to take its first lead of the game at 3-2. Anna Rourke (Hamilton, Mass.) scored twice in the rally, while Caroline Walton (Irvine, Calif.) added a goal and an assist.
Approaching the midway point of the first half, UNE went on its largest run of the game to put the Fighting Scots in trouble. Korinne Bohunsky (Eliot, Maine) and Davee dominated the game for a 10-minute stretch, combining for four goals and three assists as a part of a 6-0 run.
Gordon was able to close the first on a 2-1 spurt with goals from Olivia McCarrick (Glen Burnie, Md.) and MC Aston (Greenwich, N.Y.), which made it a 9-5 score at halftime.
The Fighting Scots continued their solid play at the start of the second half with two quick strikes from McCarrick and Hannah Schilke (Westerly, R.I.), only to see UNE score twice in 30 seconds to reclaim a four-goal lead.
A game of runs continued with Gordon countering back for two for an 11-9 score with 24 minutes remaining in regulation.
Carvalho completed a hat trick in the 37th minute on a feed from Bohunsky, kicking off a four-goal run for the Nor'easters that lasted nearly 20 minutes.
Down to their last chances with a six-goal deficit ahead, Gordon scored four times in four minutes thanks to quality chances in the draw controls. McCarrick became a wrecking crew with Gordon's final three goals to close the gap to 15-13.
The Fighting Scots had another chance to creep even closer, but sophomore goalkeeper Maritza Nary (Dover, N.H.) made a couple of stops to send the ball back in the other direction, preserving the win.
Bohunsky filled up the box score with three goals, four assists and five ground balls. Davee also had a big day with three goals and three assists. Carvalho added another four scores. Nary made five stops to earn the win.
McCarrick was the star for the home side with six goals. Walton and Aston had good days on the draw with 15 controlled between them. Gordon held a solid 22-8 advantage in the category.
Gordon will head to Nichols on Saturday for a 2 p.m. start, while UNE hosts defending CCC champ Roger Williams at 4 on the same day.
