BIDDEFORD, Maine – The University of New England women's lacrosse team held Wentworth to four goals in the first half, and went on to secure the Commonwealth Coast Conference win, 17-11, at Blue Bolt Field.
The Nor'easters remain undefeated against league opponents at 3-0 and jump above .500 at 6-5 overall, while the Leopards dip to 1-3 in conference play and 7-3 this season.
UNE's Casey Conwell won the opening draw, as the Nor'easters peppered sophomore Lily Kuhns (Gloucester, Mass.) from the start, who made two stops before Nichole Corriveau broke open the scoring on a free position shot. Conwell again won the ensuing draw, setting up UNE for the 2-0 lead with an unassisted tally from Molly Camelo just over six minutes in. UNE scored four more goals over the next seven minutes, capped by Julie Benjamin's first of the game for a 5-0 lead, before freshman Sarah Galan (Colchester, Conn.) broke the drought for Wentworth. Senior Brooke Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) scored twice while classmate Leah Cummins (Plymouth, Mass.) found the back of the net once before the halftime buzzer, as UNE held a 9-4 lead at the break.
Despite UNE only outscoring Wentworth 8-7 in the second half, the Nor'easters held on to their early first-half lead. Wentworth held a 9-7 advantage in second-half draws, while Paradis scored four of her six goals throughout the final thirty.
Paradis finished with six goals and one assist for seven points while also winning seven draw controls. Sophomore Emily Rogers (Pembroke, Mass.) finished with a pair of goals, while Galan, junior Kaitlyn Darveau (South China, Maine), and Cummins each found the back of the net once. Galan also added five draw controls to her stat line.
For UNE, Camelo finished with a game-high seven goals, ten ground balls, and three draw controls. Julia Benjamin, Nicole Corriveau and Keara Dwyer rounded out multi-goal scoring for the Nor'easters.
Kuhns suffered the loss in the cage for Wentworth, and made 14 saves, including 11 in the first half.
Wentworth returns to Sweeney Field on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. conference game against Endicott. The Leopards will honor their eight graduating seniors before the tilt.
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