WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College women's lacrosse team used nine first half goals and strong defense to defeat non-conference opponent Salem State University 13-6 on Tuesday evening in a rain soaked affair at Regis Stadium. With the victory, the Pride improve to 5-4 on the year and with the loss, the Vikings sink to 5-5.
The Crimson and Gold began the game on fire, scoring the first four goals of the contest in a span of 10 minutes. Senior midfielder Teresa Busiek (Arlington, Mass.) opened up the scoring after she received a pass on the goal line from teammate Sam Salamone (Milford, Mass.) and ripped a low shot past Vikings keeper Cheyenne Jackson (Peabody, Mass.) for an early 1-0 advantage.
Seconds after the first scoring tally, senior attack Grace Politis (Billerica, Mass.) received an errant pass by Katie Haidemenos (Warwick, R.I.) that almost sailed over her head. Politis snagged the ball from up top, brought the ball back down and cranked a low shot that ended up in the back of the net. After a quick restart, Salamone found Haidemenos with a quick pass and she rifled a top shelf shot that gave the Pride a 3-0 lead.
Busiek ended the scoring binge for Regis when she scooped up a groundball, made a nifty cut right and fired the ball into the cage on a jump shot.
The Vikings wouldn't be denied as they answered the Pride's fast start with three straight unanswered goals. Freshman attack Courtney Smith (Peabody, Mass.) got Salem State on the board after she received a pass from behind the net from Katie Hart (Beverly, Mass.) and sniped a left handed shot past Pride goalie Emma Decker (Southborough, Mass.).
Senior midfielder Kelsey Russell scored the next two goals; one was on a free position attempt and the other was on a fast break down the field, with a pass in front of the net by Kristina Conlon (Dracut, Mass.) that Russell buried top shelf. Russell's two scoring tallies cut Regis's lead to 4-3.
The Pride responded to the Vikings scoring run with one of their own as they scored the next four goals to take a commanding lead in the contest. Sam Salamone scored her first goal of the game after she converted a low bounce shot while making a filthy spin move.
Seconds later, Grace Politis added another goal when she curled off a pick, corralled a pass from Teresa Busiek, and fired a top shelf shot past the goalie. Politis added her third goal of the game 44 seconds later when she hauled in a quick pass on the goal line from Sierra Luce (Hartford, Vt.) and successfully cocked back a low snipe that pushed the Pride advantage to 7-3.
Sashae Walls (Everett, Mass.) concluded the Pride rally when the sliced through the Vikings defense and fired high shot that found the net to give Regis their largest lead of the first half.
Salem State junior attack Erin Riley (Wakefield, Mass.) handled a pass from behind and made a running low shot to cut into the Pride lead before half, but Teresa Busiek answered back with a free position goal to lead Regis into the half ahead 9-4.
Goals were hard to come by in the second half as both teams defense locked down the opposing team's offense. As both squads remained scoreless during the first 10 minutes, Erin Riley had an opportunity to get the Vikings off the shined. Riley had two chances to score but was stifled by Regis goalkeeper Emma Decker as she made a save and forced the other shot outside the net.
The teams remained in a deadlock until the 17:51 mark when Kristina Conlon passed off the ball on the left side to Kristina Ventura (Billerica, Mass.), who came back to the right side and converted a low shot to slice into the deficit.
The Crimson and Gold responded to Ventura's tally by scoring three straight free position goals as Politis scored her fourth goal of the game and Salamone scored her second and third as well to put the game out of reach.
Grace Politis and Teresa Busiek led the Pride offensive attack with four goals and an assists apiece. Sam Salamone also contributed with a hat-trick and handed out two assists during the victory. Politis, Busiek and Salamone combined for 11 of the Pride's 13 goals. Emma Decker made a season-high 15 saves during the victory and improved to 5-4 on the year.
Erin Riley and Kelsey Russell led the Vikings in scoring as they both scored two goals each. Kristina Conlon had a game-high three assists while Amanda Nihan (Peabody, Mass.) recorded a team-high five groundballs Cheyenne Jackson made eight stops during the game and fell to 5-5 with the loss.
The Pride return to the field on Thursday, April 9th with a New England Collegiate Conference contest against Daniel Webster at 5:00 p.m. The Vikings return home to Salem on Saturday, April 11th with a MASCAC game versus Fitchburg State at 1:00 p.m.