SALEM, Mass. -- The Mount Ida College women's lacrosse team opened up their 2015 season with a 10-8 setback at the hands of the Vikings of Salem State University. Sam Basler (Plymouth, Mass.) and Amanda Bowen (Randolph, Vt.) each tallied hat trick's in the non-conference tilt for Mount Ida.
With the win, Salem State improves to 1-0 on the young season while Mount Ida drops to 0-1 after seeing their first few games of the 2015 season postponed due to weather.
Ventura scored the Vikings first goal with just under 20 minutes remaining to give Salem State the 1-0 early lead. A few moments later, Kelsey Russell (Arlington, Mass) lifted her team to a 2-0 advantage with a goal, beating Mount Ida's keeper Sydney Fredette (Hudson, Mass) low and away.
Ventura and Russell connected for another Salem State score as Russell fed the cutting Ventura, who finished the play just before the edge of the crease. The Vikings' scoring spree wasn't done yet as Kristina Conlon (Dracut, Mass) tallied the fourth Salem State goal of the half with 12:42 on the clock. Mount Ida got on the scoreboard with a Basler goal with 5:25 left in the opening half. Just before the end of the opening stanza, Basler was able to tack on another goal before entering the break, down 5-2.
In the second half, the Vikings' offense continued to roll as they added three goals within a two-minute span. During that stretch, Ventura added a goal while Erin Riley (Wakefield, Mass) and Katie Hart (Beverly, Mass) both netted a goal apiece. However, the Mustangs cut the deficit to 10-5 with back-to-back goals from Basler and Bowen with 15:46 remaining.
Minutes later, Rebecca Beaulieu (Weare, N.H.) beat Chyenne Jackson (Peabody, Mass) to chip away at the Vikings' edge to bring the score to 10-6. Bowen added two more goals in the final minutes to help the Mustangs come within two of the Vikings. Despite the late comeback by the Mount Ida, the Vikings' held on for 10-8 victory.
Jackson made 12 saves while Fredette stopped 10 shots on the afternoon for the Mustangs. Salem edged Mount Ida in shots 40-35, while Mount Ida held the edge in ground balls, 36-32.
The Vikings' resume their season on March 13th when they host the University of Maine-Farmington at 4:00 p.m. Mount Ida will host Simmons College at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning
Some Content Courtesy of Salem State University Sports Information.