FRANKLIN, Mass. – March 7, 2024 – The Dean College women's lacrosse team was defeated by Nichols, 24-7, Thursday afternoon at Grant Field.

Dean (1-1) remains home on Saturday for a 3 p.m. conference game against Norwich. Nichols (4-0) hosts Simmons on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Junior Haley Gaunt (Johnston, R.I.) scored four times to lead the Bulldogs. Junior Nina Medeiros (Fairhaven, Mass.) tallied a goal, two assists, three ground balls and seven draw controls. Junior Natalie Peterson (Hudson, Mass.) contributed a pair of goals.

Nichols was led by Hadley Houghton (Madison, Conn.). She scored seven goals to go with one assist and 13 draw controls. Sophomores Caitlin Welch (West Haven, Conn.) and Emma Patton (Avon Lake, Ohio) added five goals apiece.

Dean sophomore goalie Allie Stockwell (Burrillville, R.I.) took the loss with 17 goals allowed and four saves in 25 minutes. First-year Shea Cassani (Belgrade, Maine) played the final 35 minutes and allowed seven goals with two saves. Nichols goalie Briar Slattery (Woodstock, Ontario) earned the win with four saves and three goals allowed in the first half. Senior Keri Tremblay (Bristol, R.I.) worked the second half and surrendered four goals with four saves.

The Bison began the game with three goals, including a pair from Houghton, in the first three minutes of action. Dean responded with two goals from Gaunt to cut the deficit to one. Nichols then took control by scoring the next seven goals en route to a 13-3 advantage after the opening period.

Nichols took an 18-3 lead into halftime after five different players found the back of the net in the second.

The lead ballooned to 21-3 early in the third before Peterson stopped the run with her second goal of the game. Welch answered a couple of minutes later to make the score 22-4 after three.

The visitors scored twice to begin the final frame, but Dean notched the final three tallies of the contest with two from Gaunt and one from Medeiros to account for the 24-7 final.