Wellesley Lacrosse Can’t Keep Pace With No. 20 Colby

WATERVILLE, Maine -- Leading 7-3 in the first half, No. 20 Colby College scored 12 of the final 13 goals in the game to defeat Wellesley College lacrosse, 19-4, in non-conference play on Friday at Bill Alfond Field. Friday's game was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday but was rescheduled due to the impending weather forecast.

The Blue drop to 3-4 overall, having lost back-to-back contests after winning three in-a-row from March 7-22. Colby is now 4-2 on the season.

Colby senior Lexie Perticone (Darien, Conn.) scored a game-high six points, finishing the contest with two goals and four assists. Sophomore Banks Dotson (Houston, Texas) added a hat-trick, a draw control and a cause turnover. Sasha Fritts (Darien, Conn.), Emma Banks (North Haven, Conn.), Kendall Smith (Glen Ridge, N.J.), and Cassie Rodgers (Marblehead, Mass.) each had two goals, while Hannah Newhall (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and Chrissy Coveney (Hingham, Mass.) each added a goal and an assist.

Senior Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) scored two goals, had three caused turnovers, one ground ball, and one draw control to lead the Blue. Classmate Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) added a goal and a game-high four draw controls. Sophomore Dacia Persky (Las Vegas, Nev.) also scored and added an assist. Classmates Lena Engbretson (Beaverton, Ore.) and Olivia Strobl (Stafford, Va.) each tallied assists. In goal, senior Wendy Nettleton (La Jolla, Calif.) played the first half and made five saves, sophomore Chloe Tucker (San Ramon, Calif.) took over in the second and made four stops.

Colby opened the game on a 4-0 run, as Fritts, Smith and Klein scored before Smith added her second on an assist from junior Maddie Hatch (Wilbraham, Mass.) to cap the run at 22:19 of the first. Peterson and Persky scored the next two goals, at 19:55 and 19:29, to draw the Blue back within two. Peterson's marker was unassisted, while Persky finished on a feed from Strobl. It took Colby just 14 seconds to counter Persky's goal, with Coveny finishing on a set-up from Perticone at 18:15.

The Colby lead jumped to 7-2, on goals from Perticone and Banks, before the Blue got on the board when Persky assisted on Peterson's second at 10:57. Sophomore Kate Burkett (Larchmont, N.Y.) and Fritts then made the Colby lead 9-3 with 8:52 left before the half. Sharkin scored 18 seconds after the Fritts goal, making the score 9-4, but the Blue had no answer for the Colby offense for the remainder of the contest.

Murtha and Perticone closed out the first with goals to send Colby into the break with an 11-4 edge. The Mules then scored eight unanswered goals in the second half to run away from the Blue and earn their first home win of the year. Dotson netted all three of her goals after the half, while Rodgers had two, including one on a free position shot. Colby finished 3-for-5 on free position shots and had a 20-5 edge in ground balls and a 25-17 lead in shots.

Wellesley will return home and to New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Wednesday, April 5, when they host MIT. Colby will host Wesleyan on Sunday, April 2, at 1:00 PM in game originally scheduled to be played on Saturday.