NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (Sept. 17, 2010) – Led by junior forward Shara Robertson, the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team cruised to a 4-0 victory over longtime rival Smith College this afternoon. It was the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both squads and the first contest ever played on the newly constructed Smith Turf Field.
Robertson figured in on all four goals, scoring three and assisting on the other. It was her second hat trick of the year and the fourth of her outstanding career in a Lyons uniform. Mount Holyoke has now defeated the Pioneers nine straight times, a streak dating back to the 2003 season. The all-time series between the programs stands at 23-23-1.
The Lyons jumped out to a 1-0 edge just over nine minutes into the contest, when Robertson collected a loose ball and scored from close range. She used a feed from classmate Taylor Hedges in the 43rd minute to extend the cushion to 2-0 and then made the score 3-0 off an assist from junior forward Jess Fajardo in the 62nd minute. With her three goals today, she ran her season total to seven.
Mount Holyoke closed out the scoring at the 68:45 mark, when Robertson set up sophomore forward Angelica Pascual's first career tally.
The Lyons finished with large advantages in both shots (15-1) and penalty corner chances (17-5). Junior goalkeeper Katie Gibson picked up her third shutout of the season and the tenth of her career despite making no saves. At the other end, junior Sora Harris-Vincent made eight stops for Smith (2-3, 0-1 NEWMAC).
Mount Holyoke (3-1, 1-0 NEWMAC) will return to action on Tuesday, when it visits Western New England College for a non-conference match beginning at 7:00 p.m.
