Statistics

DUDLEY, Mass. – The University of New England erased a five-goal deficit to force overtime, but Nichols' Hadley Houghton netted the game-winning goal to give the Bison a 14-13 victory in Saturday afternoon's No. 4/No. 5 first-round matchup in the 2025 Conference of New England Women's Lacrosse Championship at Vendetti Field.
 
UNE's nine-goal second half, which included a 4-0 fourth-quarter run, was capped off by Sydney Balotin's game-tying goal with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Houghton's tally – the only shot of the extra session – sends Nichols (13-3-1) to top-seeded Endicott in the CNE semifinals on Wednesday, April 30. The Nor'easters' 2025 campaign comes to a close with a 7-9-1 record.
 
Kristen Ruby, Sienna Reeves and Emma Patton each scored four goals to pace the Bison attack. McKenzie Muir powered Nichols to a 19-12 advantage in draw controls, having collected 11, along with her three caused turnovers and two groundballs.
 
Morgan White scored five goals – all in the second half – while Balotin, Molly Henderson and Paige DeVries delivered two apiece. Back-to-back White goals early in the fourth quarter were crucial with UNE facing a 13-9 deficit with less than 12 minutes left in regulation. Those tallies were part of a stretch that saw three Nor'easter goals in fewer than three minutes, with the latter coming from DeVries to make it a one-goal game with 8:44 left to set the stage for Balotin's equalizer.
 
Balotin and DeVries accounted for the first goals of the game before Nichols responded with a 4-0 run, eventually taking a 4-3 lead into the second quarter, where the Bison outscored UNE 3-1. The Nor'easters saw the deficit stretch to 11-6 after Nichols turned in a strong start to the third quarter, but Emma Collingwood's score at the 2:33 mark of the third started a 7-2 run that sent the postseason matchup to overtime.
 
Jenna Trafford made five saves, including one shortly after DeVries' fourth-quarter goal to keep the deficit at 13-12. Nichols goalkeeper Briar Slattery recorded seven saves.