Women's Lacrosse Holds Off Plymouth State, 12-10

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team held off visiting Plymouth State University, 12-10, in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.

The Bears improve to 5-6 on the season with their first win over the Panthers since 2013. Plymouth State falls to 5-4 with the setback. The Panthers had won each of the last seven meetings of the two teams.

Junior attack Savannah Herrington (Kinnelon, N.J.) notched four goals, an assist, four ground balls and three caused turnovers for the Bears, while senior midfielder Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.) also potted four goals to go along with two ground balls, a caused turnover and six draw controls. Langton hit the century mark in both ground balls and draw controls for her career. She is the tenth player in program history to record both 100 ground balls and 100 draw controls.

Sophomore attack Julia Donovan (Antrim, N.H.), sophomore midfielder Elle Moshier (Stratford, Conn.) and junior midfielder Megan Gaspa (Laconia, N.H.) netted two goals apiece for the Panthers with Donovan and Moshier also collecting an assist.

Bridgewater State led 5-3 following a free position goal by Herrington with 12:56 remaining in the second quarter. Plymouth State, however, closed out the first half with four unanswered goals to take a 7-5 lead into the break. Sophomore midfielder Jenna Stowell (Londonderry, N.H.), senior attack Emily Santom (Litchfield, N.H.), Donovan and sophomore attack Maddie Hunt (Acton, Mass.) each found the back of the net for the Panthers during the 4-0 run. The strikes by Donovan and Hunt came within the last 65 seconds of the period.

The Bears dominated play in the third quarter outscoring the Panthers 5-0 during the session to jump back on top, 10-7. Sophomore midfielder Erin McIntyre (Tewksbury, Mass.) converted off an assist from Herrington to open the third-quarter scoring while Herrington converted twice off the free position and Langton added a pair of goals including a free position marker.

An unassisted tally by senior attack Olivia Croke (Norwell, Mass.) followed by a Moshier player-advantage goal pulled the visitors to within one at 10-9 with 12:07 remaining in the fourth quarter. Defenses prevailed over the next five minutes. Langton then gave the Bears a two-goal cushion with 7:13 showing on the scoreboard, and freshman midfielder Meredith Sylvia (South Dartmouth, Mass.) found the back of the net to extend the BSU lead to 12-9 with 5:21 left to play. Just 36 seconds later, Gaspa converted off an assist from Stowell to cut the deficit to 12-10. The Panthers had a golden opportunity to make it a one-goal game with just under two minutes remaining, but BSU senior goalkeeper Olivia Kerrigan (Braintree, Mass.) came up with a clutch save on Donovan's free position attempt. After forcing a turnover, the Bears maintained possession the rest of the way and ran out the clock.

Plymouth held a 28-22 shot advantage for the game, while Bridgewater finished with a 23-17 edge in ground balls. Draw controls even at 13 apiece.

The Bears went 5-for-7 in free position attempts and successfully converted 13 of 17 clear attempts. The Panthers were just 11 of 18 on clear attempts and 2-for-6 from the free position.

Kerrigan made 11 saves to record her second win of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Margie Black (Longmeadow, Mass.) turned aside six shots between the pipes for Plymouth State.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon. The Bears host Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Westfield State University at one o'clock, while the Panthers travel to Keene State College for a noontime Little East Conference (LEC) affair with the Owls.