Seahawks fall to Nor'easters

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – The University of New England outscored the Salve Regina women's lacrosse team 10-6 in the first half to lead the Nor'easters to a 15-10 victory in Commonwealth Coast Conference action at Gaudet Field, Saturday afternoon.

Salve Regina slips to 3-6 on the year and 0-2 in the conference while the Nor'easters improve to 6-3 on the year and 1-1 in the CCC.

Junior Gina Tortorici (Deer Park, N.Y.) and sophomore Abigail Tepper (Foxboro, Mass.) sandwiched a pair of goals around a goal from senior Hannah Tavella (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) and junior Hannah Warren (Harrison, Maine) for the Nor'easters as the two teams opened the game with a 2-2 tie over the first five minutes before the two teams went back and forth for the next five goals UNE took a 5-4 lead on Tavella's fourth goal of the game. Junior Nikki Smith (Shapleigh, Maine) pushed the UNE lead to 6-4.

A pair of goals from Smith and Tavella following senior Grace Kelly's (Auburn, N.Y.) first goal of the game gave the Nor'easters a 8-5 lead with 7:13 to play in the opening half. Senior Karley Malenczak (Sayville, N.Y.) took advantage of a man-up opportunity for Salve Regina with her eighth goal of the year to cut the lead to 8-6 with 4:46 to play, but the Nor'easters closed out the half with a pair of goals to push their lead to 10-6 after the first.

The University of New England and Salve Regina went back to back for the first four goals of the second half before Kelly notched her second of the game to cut the Nor'easter lead to 12-9. Junior Gina Newsome (Danbury, Conn.) and Kelly went back to back before UNE closed out the game with a goal from freshman Jocelyn Davee (Freeport, Maine) and Newsome on free position shots to bring the score to its final, 15-10.

Tepper led the Seahawks with six points (2g, 4a) while Kelly notched three goals and a pair of assists. Tavella led the Nor'easters with five goals while Warren added four more.

Senior Josephine O'Reilly (Middletown, R.I.) made eight saves in the net for Salve Regina while sophomores Courtney Kendall (Waltham, Mass.) and Lauryn Huck (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) split time in the net for the Nor'easters. Kendall made nine saves and earned the win while Huck finished with 10 in the second half.

UNE returns to action when the Nor'easters travel to Roger Williams on Saturday for a 3:30 p.m. start while the Seahawks take on Roger Williams on Tuesday at 7 p.m.