NEW LONDON, N.H. - Simmons lacrosse (9-2, 6-1 GNAC) handed Colby-Sawyer College (8-1, 6-1 GNAC) its first loss of the season with an 11-2 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Sunday afternoon.

Within the first five minutes of the game, graduate senior Abby Stoller netted a pair of successful free-position goals to give Simmons a two-goal lead. Less than a minute later, senior midfielder Lilly Devitt assisted first-year attacker Kat Wood to put the Sharks on top, 3-0. The Sharks' played strong defensively, with a caused turnover and ground ball by junior defender Riley Wasiuk and senior goalkeeper Nicole Elliott stopping two shot attempts.

Sophomore midfielder Marita Nothacker scored the opening goal of the second quarter off of a free-position shot. After a few minutes of no scoring for either team, sophomore attacker Leah Manfra broke the skid and netted her eighth goal on the season to give the Sharks a five-point lead. Stoller finished out the half with a successful free-position shot, pushing Simmons to 6-0.

An early foul in the third quarter gave Nothacker the opportunity to score another goal off of a free-position attempt. Two minutes later, junior attacker Liz Krenicky successfully scored off of another foul call, pushing Simmons to an eight-point lead. Powering on offensive, Nothacker connected with sophomore attacker Julia Chausse to go ahead, 9-0. The Chargers broke up the shut-out, scoring with 18 seconds left in the quarter.

Thirty seconds into the fourth quarter, a yellow card on Colby Sawyer allowed attackers Wood and Chausse to connect for a goal utilizing the player-up advantage. Moments later Wood recorded her first career hat-trick to put Simmons on top by 10. However, a yellow card on the Sharks gave the Chargers an advantage and they capitalized on it, scoring to cut the Simmons lead to 11-2.

It was plenty for Elliott, who improved to 9-2 in net and registered an .846 save percentage, tallying 11 saves on 13 shots.

SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS

• Simmons' defense held the Chargers, who entered the game with a 15 goal per game average, to two goals.
• First-year Kat Wood tallied her first career hat-trick with three goals.
• Graduate senior Abby Stoller tied Wood with, registering three goals of her own.
• Senior goalie Nicole Elliot had a .846 save percentage with 11 saves on 13 shots.

GAME NOTES

• Simmons dominated defensively, tallying 38 ground balls and eight caused turnovers.
• The Sharks outshot the Chargers 37-16. 

UP NEXT
Simmons lacrosse travels to Franklin, Massachusetts on Tuesday, April 5 where they face GNAC foe Dean College at 3:30 p.m.