BOSTON, Mass. – The Simmons University women's lacrosse team was defeated by visiting Colby-Sawyer College, 18-5, today in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action on Daly Field in Brighton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 5-4 overall, including 3-3 in league play, while the Chargers win their fifth straight to improve to 6-2 and 5-2.
The Colby-Sawyer offense owned a 34-18 shot advantage and the defense didn't allow more than three goals in each of the halves of play.
Senior midfielders Mallory Cottam (Hope, R.I.) and Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) and sophomore middie Molly Reinhold (Mystic, Conn.) each registered two points with a goal and an assist each for Simmons. Reinhold was very active with a career-high six ground balls, five draw controls and three caused turnovers, while Bragg added two ground balls, a pair of draw controls and a caused turnover. Cottam won three draws and picked up a ground ball. Sophomore netminder Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.) stopped 10 shots during the day.
Senior attacker Sierra Schuster (Hopkinton, N.H.) (six) and sophomore attacker Sarah Morin (Pelham, N.H.) (five) combined to score 11 goals to lead the Chargers. Schuster added five draw controls, while Morin assisted on a goal to give her a career-high six points to go with her lifetime best in goals scored. She also picked up a ground ball and caused a turnover. Sophomore attacker Briana Couture (South Hadley, Mass.) tallied four points on three goals and an assist in addition to a pair of draw controls and a ground ball and senior attacker Brittany Ireland (Amherst, N.H.) led all players with seven points on two goals and a personal-best five assists to go with six draw controls and a ground ball. First year attacker Caroline Tompkins (Marblehead, Mass.) contributed with four ground balls and two caused turnovers for the Chargers. Junior goalie Kailyn Lapham (Medway, Mass.) made nine saves to earn the victory.
Reinhold opened the scoring for the Sharks with a goal coming just 1:46 into the match, before Colby-Sawyer reeled off seven unanswered goals over the next 18-plus minutes of action. Schuster capped the run with four straight goals including the team's seventh to give the Chargers a 7-1 cushion with 9:56 to play in the opening period.
Cottam converted a free position opportunity for Simmons, just 38 seconds later, to pause the Colby-Sawyer offensive outburst and cut the deficit to 7-2. Couture, Ireland and Morin all scored to close out the half and give the visitors a 10-2 advantage at the intermission. The Chargers controlled the draw in the opening stanza by a count of 9-4.
Senior attacker Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) opened the second half with a goal on a feed from Cottam with 24:55 showing in the period for the Sharks, but Morin countered 41 seconds later for Colby-Sawyer and found the back of the net again just 23 seconds after that at 23:51. Couture followed with her 21st marker of the year to cap a three-goal string for the Chargers and give them a 13-3 lead with 19:44 to play in the game.
Simmons first year attacker Ailia Rochefort (Dover, N.H.) scored her third goal of the season at the 18:13 mark, but Colby-Saywer answered with three more scores to take a 16-4 margin. Reinhold found Bragg for her 15th goal of the season at 9:35, but it was the last marker for the Sharks as the Chargers netted the final two scores of the afternoon, including sophomore attacker Talia Dinger's (Penacook, N.H.) first goal of the year.
Simmons will be in action again on Wednesday, April 3 when it travels to Dartmouth, Mass. to take on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at 7:00 p.m., while Colby-Sawyer heads to Fitchburg, Mass. on April 2 to play Fitchburg State University at 5:00 p.m.