CHICOPEE, Mass. – Trailing by five goals with just under eight minutes remaining, the Wentworth Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team pulled within a pair late in the contest, however Elms held on for a 14-12 win in non-conference action Thursday night. Sophomore Brooke Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) achieved a personal milestone in the loss, becoming the third player in program history to score more than 100 points in their career.
With the win the Blazers improve to 9-2 on the season while the Leopards fall to 2-12.
Elms jumped out to a 5-0 lead with freshman Alecia Keese (Westfield, Mass.) scoring two goals and adding an assist and freshman Haley Richard (Monson, Mass.) tallying twice. Senior Sage Vadenais (Fiskdale, Mass.) and freshman Marissa Nelson (Cranston, R.I.) scored within 1:51 of each other to make it 5-2, however the Blazers scored the next four to take a 9-2 lead with just over eight minutes left in the half. Freshman Julie Dam (Milford, Mass.) and Paradis brought the Black & Gold to 9-4 but two goals in a span of 34 seconds from sophomore Vanessa Vurno (Salem, Conn.) made it 11-4.
Freshman Kaitlyn Darveau (South China, Maine) brought Wentworth to within 11-5 with 59 seconds left before Paradis recorded her third point of the game and 100th of her career with a goal which came shortly after the ensuing draw.
The teams traded goals in the second half with the Blazers taking a 14-9 lead on a junior Alissa Porfilio (Agawam, Mass.) free position shot with 7:53 remaining in the contest. In the final 5:47, Paradis scored twice and classmate Leah Cummins (Plymouth, Mass.) also recorded a goal, however the Leopards would not complete the comeback.
Keesee finished with four goals and an assist. Junior Jackie Soucia (Belchertown, Mass.) had three goals and an assist, while Vurno and Richard had three goals apiece. Soucia finished with 11 ground balls, seven draw controls, and five caused turnovers. Richard had five ground balls and also caused five turnovers.
Paradis, who now sits tied for second with Jessica Houghton '15 on the program's all-time scoring list (104), had five goals, two assists, five ground balls, and four draw controls. Cummins had a pair of goals, senior Brandie Holland (Lynn, Mass.) won seven draw controls, sophomore Caitlin McCormick (Hanson, Mass.) scooped up five ground balls, and junior Courtney McCormick (Hanson, Mass.) caused three turnovers.
Senior Meghan O'Connor (Fall River, Mass.) made nine saves while Wentworth sophomore Liz Gunning (Fort Salonga, N.Y.) made 12 saves. Elms had a 37-25 shot advantage, a 37-22 ground ball edge, while Wentworth had a slight advantage (15-13) in draw controls.
Wentworth hosts Western New England on Saturday.
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