Courtesy David Peterson
Courtesy David Peterson

Wellesley Lacrosse Cruises to 18-7 Victory Over Regis

WESTON, Mass. — Wellesley College lacrosse scored 11 goals in the second half to down host Regis College on Wednesday afternoon at Regis Stadium. With the win, Wellesley moves to 3-0 to start the season.

Wellesley sophomore Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) continued her blistering start to the year, leading the Blue attack with eight goals and a game-high nine points on 11 shots. Sharkin also tallied five ground balls and five draw controls and has now recorded multi-goal games in each of Wellesley's contests this season. 

Senior Claire Canty (East Rockaway, N.J.) added six assists and a pair of goals, also picking up five ground balls and five draw controls for the Blue. Classmate Meghan Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) registered a hat-trick and a pair of assists on the afternoon. First year Jenny Gubner (Pleasanton, Calif.) and sophomore Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) each added a pair of goals, with Gubner also tallying three assists and Courtney Peterson adding two. Junior Chesley Hooker (Cypress, Texas) also scored for the Blue. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Wendy Nettleton (La Jolla, Calif.) made seven saves to improve to 3-0. Regis junior Emma Decker (Southborough, Mass.) made nine saves in the loss. 

Senior Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.) recorded a hat-trick for the Pride, who slip to 1-2 overall on the season. Senior Grace Politis (Billerica, Mass.) and junior Sam Salamone (Milford, Mass.) each added two goals, while senior Katie Haidemenos (Warwick, R.I.) recorded a pair of assists. 

Four first half goals from Sharkin helped the Blue take a 7-3 advantage into halftime. The Blue sophomore opened the scoring at 25:15 on an assist from Canty before adding markers at 14:18 and 8:12 on feeds from Meghan Peterson and Canty, respectively. Sharkin's third goal gave the Blue a 4-1 lead before Politis pulled Regis to within two with a goal at 5:02. 

Meghan and Courtney Peterson then found the net on either side of Sharkin's final tally of the half, as Wellesley jumped to a 7-2 lead with 58 seconds remaining. Salamone added a free position goal with just 26 seconds left to send the game into the half with a 7-3 score. 

Busiek opened the second half with a goal, pulling the Pride to within three less than three minutes after the break. However, that is as close as the hosts would get for the reminder of the contest, as Sharkin scored on a free position shot to ignite a string of five unanswered goals from the Blue. Courtney Peterson, Canty, and Hooker each hit the back of the net before Sharkin capped the run with her sixth goal at 18:16 of the second.  

Politis broke Wellesley's momentum with a free position shot at 17:09, as she and Salamone scored on either side of Sharkin's seventh goal of the game to make the score 13-6 with 14:05 remaining. From there, the Blue would score five of the final final six goals in the contest with the last goal coming from Meghan Peterson at 5:40 on an assist from Courtney Peterson. 

Wellesley will return to action next Wednesday, March 25th, at 4:00 PM when they host Springfield to open New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. Regis will travel to Framingham State for their next contest on Tuesday, March 24th, at 4:30 PM.