Fitchburg State Beats Nichols, 16-6

Falcons improve to 4-0 on the season with non-conference win over the Bison

DUDLEY, Mass. (March 31, 2011) – The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team improved to 4-0 on the season with a 16-6 non-conference victory at Nichols in a snow-shortened game on Vendetti Field.

Due to accumulating snow, the game was called with 9:29 remaining on the clock, and stands as official. Sophomore Jessica Bartlett (Marlborough, Mass./Marlborough) and junior Kelly Finamore (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) each had five points on three goals and two assists for the Falcons, while junior Amanda Burns (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) added a pair of scores in the contest.

Nichols was paced by two goals from Toni Minelli (Newington, Conn.) and three points on a goal and two assists from Krista-Jean Forand (Plymouth, Mass.).

Fitchburg State grabbed an early lead, 3-0, just four minutes into the game, but Forand connected with Dudziak for her first of the night to break the Falcons' stride. Fitchburg added four consecutive markers capped by a Bartlett free position shot to make it 7-1 at 17:58 and closed the half with three more markers for a 10-3 advantage at the break. Senior Tessa Leahy (Cohasset, Mass./Cohasset) capped the stanza's scoring with 0:15 left on the clock, while freshman Markie Apple (Pittsfield, Mass./Taconic) and sophomore Kristen Dooley (Salem, Mass./Salem) netted goals in the rally.

Senior Connie Perry (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) struck first in the second half, needing just 1:26 to give the Falcons an eight-goal lead, while Burns and Finamore pushed Fitchburg ahead, 14-4 with back-to-back goals. Melanie Chhouy (Pepperell, Mass.) and Brittany Tremont (Guilford, Conn.) closed out the Bison's scoring, going goal-for-goal with Perry and Finamore before officials called the game.

Freshman Dylana Drolette (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) picked up the win with five saves in net for Fitchburg State while Jennifer Brigham (Bristol, R.I.) made four saves in the opening half for the hosts. Fitchburg State maintained a 19-14 advantage in groundballs, led by four from Kayla Melville (Merrimac, Mass.), while the Bison were paced by four from Julie Monroe (Whitman, Mass.).

Fitchburg State (4-0, 0-0 NEWLA) will be in action again on Saturday as it travels to Bridgewater State at 6 p.m. Nichols (1-4, 0-0 TCCC) hosts the University of New England Saturday morning at 11:30 a.m.