NASHUA, N.H. -- Sophomore midfielder Molly Reinhold (Mystic, Conn.) (six) and senior midfielder Mallory Cottam (Hope, R.I.) (five) combined to net 11 goals to lead the Simmons University women's lacrosse team to a 23-12 victory over host Rivier University this afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match at Raider Field in Nashua, N.H. The Sharks improve to 6-6 overall, including 4-4 in league play, while the Raiders fall to 3-9 and 2-6.
Simmons outshot Rivier, 40-21, and outscored the Raiders, 20-8 to close out the contest.
Reinhold added an assist for a total of seven points to go with five draw controls and a ground ball for the Sharks, while Cottam set career highs with seven points, five goals, four caused turnovers and tied the school record with nine ground balls in addition to six draw controls. Senior attacker Missie Maiewski (Northampton, Mass.) registered a career-best six points on four goals and two assists, while adding three ground balls and senior midfielder Elena Bragg (Belmont, Mass.) scored four times and assisted on a pair of goals to go with four draw controls, two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Sophomore goalie Cat Cross (Beverly, Mass.) stopped a pair of shots in the victory for Simmons.
Amanda Barton led the Raiders with five goals and two assists in addition to two draw controls, a pair of caused turnovers and a ground ball, while Marin Owens tallied six points, including four goals and added six draw controls, a draw control and a caused turnover. Ashley Leal contributed with a pair of goals, six draw controls, five ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Courtney Laperriere made 11 saves for the home team.
Barton netted a pair of goals as part of a 4-1 run to give Rivier a 4-3 edge with 17:37 remaining in the first half. The Sharks scored six times, including three from Reinhold, in a six-minute span to take a 9-4 advantage with 12:16 left in the opening half. The Raiders scored three of the next five goals to close out the half, including a pair from Barton, to cut the deficit to 11-7 at the intermission.
Simmons scored the first five goals of the second half, including three from Maiewski, to increase its lead to 16-7 with 18:02 showing on the second half clock.
Owens and Leal each found the back of the net for the Raiders, before the Sharks scored four of the next five goals, including a marker from junior Amina Mansouri (Revere, Mass.) to give Simmons a 20-10 cushion with 12:33 to go in the game. Cailee Green scored on a free position opportunity for Rivier, before the Sharks closed out the contest with three of the last four scores.
Simmons returns to action on Wednesday, April 17 when it hosts University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) at 7:00 p.m., while the Raiders host Regis (Mass.) on the same day and time.