KINGSTON, N.Y. - The New Paltz women's lacrosse team broke open a close game with seven straight goals in the second half en route to a 15-9 victory over Bard College in a non-league game on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks (2-2) scored the first five goals of the game, so it was 5-0 with just under eight minutes left in the first half. But Bard (0-2) responded with three straight goals, including one at the halftime buzzer by Nicole Ellin, and it was 5-3 at the break.

The teams traded goals to start the second half, so it was 6-4, and New Paltz simply exploded from there. The Hawks scored five goals in the next six minutes to make it 11-4. Bard scored the last three goals of the game to trim the final deficit to six, but that six-minute burst had put the game out of reach.

New Paltz had a 30-25 edge in shots, and after going 8-for-13 on clear attempts in the first half, the Hawks went 9-for-9 in the second half. The ground ball edge went to New Paltz, 25-20.

The winners got three goals and an assist from Nicole Gottschalk (Glastonbury, CT) and two goals and two assists apiece from Caitlyn Morris (Cicero, NY) and Kelsey Aeberli (Warwick, NY). Colleen Roemer (Pound Ridge, NY) made eight saves.

Casey Witte and Nicole Ellin scored three goals apiece for Bard, and Alexandra Clarke scored twice. Marion Adams added a single goal. Witte led Bard with five ground balls and five draw controls. Kaylynn Tran made 11 saves.

Bard is off until Mar. 22. The Raptors will play two games in the Mid-Atlantic over Spring Break, first at Notre Dame of Maryland University (Mar. 22), then at Wesley College (Mar. 24). You can follow both games live right here.