WESTON, Mass. – In a rematch of last year's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship, the Regis College women's lacrosse team was once again victorious over Becker College in the final regular season game for both teams on a cold and rainy Saturday afternoon at Regis Stadium. Grace Politis (Billerica, Mass.) scored six goals to help the Pride win 16-13, which officially wrapped up an undefeated mark in regular season league play for the second straight year.
Regis (12-3, 5-0 NECC) and Becker (8-6, 3-2 NECC) will await the final seedings for this season's NECC Tournament, which will kick off with a pair of Semifinals on Wednesday. The Pride have locked up the number one seed and have earned the right to host on Wednesday.
Prior to the game, Regis honored its three graduating seniors with a brief ceremony as part of Senior Day. The Pride recognized midfielders Andrea Barbosa (Taunton, Mass.) and Stacy Burns (Waltham, Mass.), as well as attack Lindsey Graver (Bellingham, Mass.) for their dedication to the program over their years at Regis College.
Following the brief ceremony, the Crimson & Gold got off to a hot start, scoring the game's first three goals. Barbosa, Politis, and Rachel Wong (Wakefield, Mass.) each scored on quick shots after receiving passes from the outside.
Ashley Mossey (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) cut into the lead after weaving through the defense to make it a 3-1 game by the 25:31 mark. Sashae Walls (Everett, Mass.) answered less than one minute later when she went the length of the field and finished top corner, but the Hawks' Victoria Belcher (Seekonk, Mass.) and Kailee Ruyack (Beacon, N.Y.) capitalized shortly after to make it a one goal contest.
Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.) would have a hand in the next three goals, as she scored on a pair of free positions and assisted on a Sam Salamone (Milford, Mass.) tally to give the Pride a larger lead. The Hawks would score three goals in the last ten minutes of the half, with two coming from Tatum Fahs (Foster, R.I.) and one from Mossey, but Politis also tacked on a pair of free position goals at the 8:53 and 8:18 markers to give Regis a 9-6 lead at halftime.
The Pride started to open the floodgates in the first five minutes of the second stanza, as they scored four consecutive times to push their advantage to 13-6. The goals came courtesy of Politis, Salamone, Wong, and Graver, respectively.
Becker regrouped with a timeout and came out to score a quick goal from Belcher, while Ruyack added another tally just over two minutes later. Just 17 seconds after, Politis struck again after making the most of Burns' third assist of the day.
The Hawks erupted on a 5-1 run over a 12 minute span to cut the score to 15-13 with 7:09 remaining. Fahs and Christina Boucher (Pawcatuck, Conn.) scored a goal apiece before Politis found the back of the net for the sixth time. Belcher, Boucher, and Samantha-Jo Dilkes (Little Falls, N.J.) then followed up with scores.
Wong added some breathing room for Regis after she sprinted the length of the field and beat Shelby Wicks (Shaftsbury, Vt.) to complete her hat trick. The Pride were able to pass the ball around and keep position as they killed the clock to close out the game for the victory.
Wicks finished with eight saves on the day, while Fahs registered six points on three goals and three assists to lead Becker. Mossey had two goals, one assist, six ground balls and four draw controls for the Hawks.
Politis had game-highs of 13 ground balls, nine draw controls, and five caused turnovers to go along with her six tallies. Emma Decker (Southborough, Mass.) made nine saves in goal to preserve the win, while Busiek finished with two goals, three assists, six ground balls, and two caused turnovers.
