NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. (Oct. 27, 2010) – Junior forward Shara Robertson found the back of the cage three times to push the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team to a 4-2 triumph over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this afternoon at Cressy Field. With the win, the Lyons ran their streak to five. They have come out on top in six of their last seven matches.
Mount Holyoke scored two goals over a span of 1:55 to gain control of the contest in the early going. Sophomore forward Angelica Pascual got things going with her second tally of the year at the 9:42 mark. Robertson then used a feed from classmate Taylor Hedges to extend the Lyons' cushion to 2-0 at the 11:42 mark.
UMass Dartmouth (12-6, 10-0 LEC) responded with a 2-0 run of its own in the early stages of the second half. The Corsairs got on the board in the 45th minute, when senior forward Stephanie Kinchla scored off an assist from classmate Becca Festinger. They then knotted things up on a goal by sophomore forward Eleanor Taylor 1:42 later. Classmate Erica Allen was credited with the assist on the play.
Led by Robertson, Mount Holyoke bounced back with two more unanswered goals down the stretch. The forward put the Lyons in front for good at the 54:31, when she knocked in a pass from Pascual. She then used an assist from first year Stephanie Slysz to post her third goal of the day just over eight minutes later. Robertson has now registered three hat tricks this season and five over the course of her outstanding career as a Lyon.
Mount Holyoke finished with a 16-5 advantage in the shot column. Junior goalkeeper Katie Gibson came up with a pair of saves for the guests, while first year Lauren O'Brien had nine for the Corsairs.
The Lyons have now knocked off three teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last fall. In addition to their victory over UMass Dartmouth, they also downed Nichols College (2-1) and MIT (3-2).
Mount Holyoke (10-5, 4-3 NEWMAC) will close out its regular season against New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Springfield College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. With a win in that match, the Lyons would gain home field advantage for the Quarterfinal Round of the NEWMAC Tournament, which is slated to take place next Tuesday.
