FRANKLIN, Mass. – March 4, 2022 – The Dean College women's lacrosse team was defeated by Nichols, 16-6, at a chilly Grant Field on Friday afternoon.

Dean (0-2) hits the road on March 12 for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener at reigning conference champion Johnson & Wales. Nichols (1-1) will host Northern Vermont University-Lyndon on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Junior Maire Brown (Huntington, N.Y.) led the Bulldogs with five points on three goals and two assists. First-year Natalie Peterson (Hudson, Mass.) added two goals. First-year Haley Gaunt (Johnston, R.I.) notched her first collegiate goal. First-year Nina Medeiros (Fairhaven, Mass.) contributed five ground balls, four draw controls and a couple of caused turnovers.

Nichols first-year Hadley Houghton (Madison, Conn.) led all players with 10 points on seven goals and three assists. She added six draw controls. Junior Mackenzie Doran (Wolfeboro, N.H.) finished with a hat trick and an assist. First-year McKenzie Muir (Bedford, N.H.) recorded her first collegiate tally.

Nichols goalie Sabrina Dembro (Saugus, Mass.) earned the win with five saves. She also had a game best six ground balls. Dean junior Jada Fields (Acushnet, Mass.) made nine saves in the loss.

Dean went in front 3-0 with a pair of Peterson goals, sandwiched around a Brown goal, in the first 5:12 of the game. The Bison turned the offense up and scored five goals in the final nine minutes to lead 5-3 after 15 minutes.

The Bison took control in the second by outscoring Dean 7-1 to take a 12-4 advantage at the half. Houghton had four goals in the quarter, while senior Elizabeth Luster (Gloucester, Mass.) added two more for the Bison.

Nichols added three more goals in the third and one in the fourth, while Dean put a goal across in each of the final two quarters to account for the 16-6 final.