Persky Tallies Hat Trick as Blue Lacrosse Falls to No. 8 Colby, 12-6

WELLESLEY, Mass. – First year Dacia Persky (Las Vegas, Nev.) tallied her third career hat trick as Wellesley College lacrosse fell to nationally-ranked Colby College, 12-6, on a blustery day at Wellesley's Turf Field. 

The Blue are now 5-4 on the season, having lost three straight since snapping a five game win streak in March. Colby, ranked No. 8 in the latest IWLCA Division III Coaches Pool, improves to 7-1 following their sixth-straight win.

Colby junior Lexie Perticone (Vero Beach, Fla.) registered a game-high five points for the Mules, scoring a hat trick and adding two assists. Senior Abby Hooper (Nahant, Mass.) also scored a hat trick for the visitors, while sophomore Kendall Smith (Bloomfield, N.J.) scored twice and had an assist. In all, seven different players recorded goals for the Mules, as sophomores Sasha Fritts (Darien, Conn.), Kelsey Bowen (Braintree, Mass.) and Maddie Hatch (Wilbraham, Mass.) and junior Chrissy Coveney (Hingham, Mass.) also added tallies.

Junior Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) scored a pair of goals for the Blue, improving her team-leading total to 22 on the season. The Blue also got a goal and an assist from first year Lena Engbretson (Beaverton, Ore.).  Sharkin, Engbretson and senior Ellie Mannon (Birmingham, Ala.) tied for game-high honors with three ground balls apiece, with Sharkin leading the squad in caused turnovers with four.

Persky scored the game's first goal just 48 seconds into the first half. The Mules responded with a string of five-straight goals, capped by back-to-back goals from Hooper, to take a 5-1 lead at 15:21 of the first. Junior Mary Lemay (Longmeadow, Mass.) found Engbretson for her tenth of the season at 8:46 of the first, snapping the Colby run and making the score 5-2.

Hatch countered with a free position goal for the Mules at 6:26, extending the lead to 6-2. Persky would then send the sides into the break with the score at 6-3 when she scored her tenth of the year on a free position shot at 2:09.

The teams played to the same 6-3 score line in the second half, with the Blue only able to draw to as close as three when Sharkin made the score 7-4 at 20:08. Sharkin's marker was followed by another 5-0 Colby run that helped the Mules take a 12-4 lead to put the contest out of reach. Perticone tallied two goals as part of the streak, completing her hat trick with her team-leading 12th of the season at 13:58.

Sharkin and Persky each added goals before the end of regulation as Colby held on for the 12-6 final.

Colby outshot the Blue by a 24-15 margin in the contest. Wellesley starter Wendy Nettleton (La Jolla, Calif.) made four saves in the first half before giving way to first year Chloe Tucker (San Ramon, Calif.) in the second, to drop to 5-4 on the season. Colby first year Izzy Scribano (Darien, Conn.) and sophomore Sam burch (Ponte Verde Beach, Fla.) combined to make eight saves for the Mules, with Scribano earning the win to improve to 4-1 on the year.

Wellesley returns to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play at 7:00 PM on Wednesday evening, April 6, at MIT. Colby will host non-conference Keene State on Wednesday at 4:30 PM.