Tepper, Seahawks stay on roll in final regular season game

DUDLEY, Mass. – Seniors Avery Orszulak (Springfield, Mass.) and Jenn Townsend (Wethersfield, Conn.) each scored a pair of goals in Nichols College's 7-5 loss to Salve Regina University in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Saturday afternoon on Senior day at a rainy Vendetti Field.

Senior Lindsey Rappazzo (Mashpee, Mass.) also scored for the Bison while Orszulak, senior Rachel Dalrymple (Belvidere, N.J.) sophomore Brooke Marion (South Hadley, Mass.), and freshman Brianna Kilborn (North Brookfield, Mass.) each picked up an assist.

Orszulak finishes her distinguished career ranked third in both assists (30) and points (118), and tied for fourth in goals (44). She is just the fifth student-athlete in school history to reach the 100-point plateau.

Junior Abigail Tepper (Foxboro, Mass.) recorded a natural hat trick for the Seahawks and finished the game with four tallies. She scored the first three goals of the game in a span of 15:02 to put the visitors ahead 3-0. It marked her second-straight game with three or more goals. Junior Marissa Gagnon (Smithfield, R.I.) made it 4-0 with a goal at 21:52 before the Bison got on the board less than five minutes later on Townsend's fifth goal of the season. The half closed with SRU holding a 12-5 edge in shots.

Gagnon and Tepper scored at 44:47 and 53:44 of the second half to stretch the Seahawks lead to 6-1. Townsend's second goal off a feed from Kilborn at 54:31 made it 6-2 before Rappazzo's blast from the right circle from Marion five minutes later cut the SRU lead to 6-3. Orszulak's 11th goal at 61:58 from Dalrymple brought Nichols to within two at 6-4, but sophomore Courtney McMorrow (Montclair, N.J.) restored the Seahawks three-goal lead with her third goal at 62:35. Orszulak closed the scoring with her 12th at 68:45.

Each team got off 15 shots in the second half. Senior Emily Mercure (Milton, Vt.) got the starting nod and made three saves before being lifted for classmate Molly Melanson (Simsbury, Conn.). She finished the game with 10 saves. Senior Murphy McCann (Westerly, R.I.) made five saves to earn her 13th win of the season.

The Bison finish their season 3-15 (1-11 CCC). The Seahawks (13-6, 6-6 CCC) will face top-seed University of New England in the CCC Semifinals on Wednesday.