HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Husson University women's lacrosse team dropped a high-scoring non-conference contest to Western New England University, 19–15, on Wednesday afternoon in Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Western New England (3-3) struck first just 29 seconds into the contest, but Husson (3-2) quickly answered as senior Averi Baker scored at the 13:26 mark to tie the game. Sophomore Kate Boehmcke followed less than 30 seconds later with an unassisted tally to give the Eagles their first lead of the afternoon. The teams continued to trade goals over the remainder of the opening quarter, with senior Laela Martinez finishing a feed from senior Gracie Gardner and Baker adding another goal off a pass from Boehmcke. Despite Husson finding the net six times in the opening frame, Western New England matched the offensive output and the game was tied 6-6 after the first quarter.
The second quarter continued the offensive fireworks. Western New England scored twice in the opening two minutes to take an 8-6 advantage before Husson responded. Boehmcke converted a pass from Baker to cut the deficit to one, and Baker finished a feed from Martinez to even the score at 8-8 with just over ten minutes remaining in the half. Baker later gave the Eagles a 9-8 lead on another connection with Boehmcke, and Gardner added an unassisted goal with 3:38 remaining. However, Western New England closed the half with two late goals, including one with nine seconds left, to take an 11-10 advantage into halftime.
Western New England created separation in the third quarter, scoring five of the first six goals of the period. After four consecutive tallies pushed the Golden Bears' lead to 15-10, Baker halted the run with her sixth goal of the game with 3:16 left in the quarter to make it 15-11 heading into the final period.
The Golden Bears extended their advantage early in the fourth quarter with goals at 13:51 and 11:51 to go up 17-11. Husson mounted a brief rally as sophomore Adella Mabee scored off a pass from Baker and Martinez added an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to 17-13 midway through the frame. Western New England answered with two more goals to stretch the lead back to six before the Eagles closed the game with late tallies from freshman Ryan Mucci and Baker, but the comeback attempt fell short as Western New England secured the 19-15 victory.
Baker led the Eagles offensively with seven goals and two assists while also collecting seven draw controls, as the veteran midfielder became the first player in program history to surpass the 200-point plateau just two days after setting the program record for most points in a career. Boehmcke added three goals and three assists while controlling 10 draws. Martinez finished with two goals and an assist, while Mabee, Saunders, Gardner and Mucci each added a goal.
In goal, freshman Salin Bachor recorded 11 saves for Husson while facing 38 shots in the contest.
Husson finished the game with a 23-13 advantage in draw controls but was outshot 38-23 overall.
The Eagles return to the Pine Tree State and will enjoy a week off before returning to action on Mar. 21 at Massachusetts Maritime Academy with first draw set for 1 p.m.
