Box Score

NEWTON, Mass. - The Nichols College women's lacrosse team fell to host Mount Ida, 11-10, in a non-conference women's lacrosse matchup in the Bison's season opener on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomores Alyssa Bufis (Linden, N.J.) and Grace Murphy (Montclair, Va.) each recorded a hat-trick while newcomer Alexa Smith (Salem, N.H.) scored her first two collegiate goals. Senior Shayna Ramalho (Monroe, Conn.) and sophomore Erica Antonison (Albertson, N.Y.) also pitched in with a goal each. First-year goalkeeper AnneMarie Fana (Lawrence, Mass.) made seven stops in her collegiate debut.

The Mustangs were led sophomore Amanda Bowen (Randolph, Vt.) four goals on six shots while Sheppard tallied a hat trick of her own scoring three goals in her first game of the season. Alexandria Milot (Tiverton, R.I.) tallied two goals on her only two shots of the game while Maile Melvin (Hebron, Conn.) and Briana Barker (Westerly, R.I.) each tallied a goal respectively. Senior netminder Kayla Musty (Topsham, Vt.) collected 17 saves on 27 shots.  

The hosts and the Bison traded goals in the 1st half, both scoring in spurts.  Nichols got on the board early when Bufis scored at the 28:40 mark of the first half.  Barker would return the favor less than 40 seconds later, tying the game at 1-1.  Nichols went on and scored the next three goals with Bufis' second goal of the day and tallies by Murphy and Smith taking a 4-1 lead.  The Mustangs turned things right around and took a 5-4 lead after four consecutive goals from Bowen (two), Melvin and Sheppard's first of the day.  Nichols knotted the score at 5-5 just before halftime on a goal by Antonison.

Ramalho scored early in the second half to go along with Murphy's second goal of the day for the 7-5 Bison advantage.  Bowen answered seconds later with her third score of the game cutting the lead to 7-6.  During the last twenty minutes of play, the Mustangs and Bison swapped goals and found themselves at a stalemate with just 3:45 left in the contest.  With 1:05 left, Shepard converted a free position shot and tallied her third goal of the day to lift the Mustangs to the 11-10 win.

Both teams surrendered several turnovers throughout the game with the hosts turning the ball over 28 times while the Bison turned it over 24 in the contest.   The Mustangs struggled clearing the ball going 9-22, while the hosts went 8-15.

Nichols opens its home slate on Tuesday, March 12, with a 4:00 p.m. non-conference game against Lasell. The Mustangs entertain UMass Dartmouth on Monday, March 11 at 4:00 p.m.

Contributions from Mount Ida Sports Information