Lemay, Engbretson Lead Blue Lacrosse to 10-6 Victory Over UNE

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Junior Mary Lemay (Longmeadow, Mass.) and first year Lena Engbretson (Beaverton, Ore.) each recorded hat-tricks to lead Wellesley College lacrosse to a 10-6 victory over the University of New England on Saturday at Wellesley's Turf Field. 

The Blue improve to 1-1 on the season, while helping head coach Lauren Schoenberger earn her first career collegiate head coaching victory. UNE drops to 2-1 after opening the season with back-to-back wins.

Both Lemay and Engbretson added assists in the contest to tie for game honors with four points. Junior Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) netted a pair of goals for the Blue, while classmate Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) added a goal and an assist and a game-high five ground balls. Senior Nicole DeCanio (Weston, Conn.) also got on the score sheet for Wellesley, scoring her first goal of the season in the second half. Sophomore Mayu Kikuchi (Villanova, Pa.) added a pair of assists and classmate Jenny Gubner also tallied a helper.

Juniors Jocelyn Davee (Freeport, Maine) and Brooke Kelleher (Exeter, N.H.) each netted a pair of goals for the Nor'easters. Davee also racked up three draw controls and a ground ball. Sophomore Paige St. George (Nashua, N.H.) and first year Korinne Bohunsky (Eliot, Maine) chipped in with one goal apiece, with St. George also tallying an assist and Bohunsky adding four ground balls, four draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers. 

Neither side could build any offensive momentum in the opening half. UNE got off to a quick start when Bohunsky potted her sixth of the season just over a minute in. However, the Blue responded at 22:33 when Sharkin capitalized on a free position attempt. The score remained tied until 8:23 of the first when Engbretson buried a feed from Kikuchi to give the Blue their first lead of the game, 2-1.

Just when it looked like the Blue would take a 2-1 lead into the break, a Wellesley turnover in their own end gave the Nor'easters a quick restart. Kelleher then finish on a feed from St. George with less than a second on the clock to make the score 2-2 at the break.

The Nor'easters opened the second stanza with back-to-back goals from Davee, taking a 4-2 lead 3:55 into the second. Wellesley countered with a 5-0 run, as Engbretson and Lemay each scored a pair of goals before Peterson put Wellesley up 7-4 with 9:49 left in the contest.

Kelleher netted her second following the ensuing draw but UNE would get no closer than the two-goal deficit for the remainder of the contest. Gubner found Lemay with 5:52 left in the game and DeCanio finished on a feed from Engretson to make the score 9-5 with just over a minute remaining. St. George scored the final UNE goal with 56 seconds to play before Sharkin closed out the 10-6 victory with her third of the season in the final minute of play. 

The Blue picked up 27 ground balls in the contest, holding a 27-22 advantage over UNE. UNE took the advantage in caused turnovers, 6-4.  

In goal, Wellesley junior Wendy Nettleton (La Jolla, Calif.) started the game and turned aside 10 shots in 51:37 of action to pick up her first win of the year (1-1). UNE senior Courtney Kendall (Waltham, Mass.) made 15 saves while playing the full 60 minutes to drop to 1-1 overall. 

Wellesley will face their first road test of the season on Wednesday, March 9, when they travel to Endicott for a 5:00 PM contest. UNE will take on No. 9 Bowdoin on Tuesday, March 9, in their next contest. Game time is 7:00 PM in Brunswick, Maine.