SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 30, 2010) – Led by forward Shara Robertson, the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team breezed to a 4-1 triumph over Springfield College this afternoon at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field. The junior posted her second hat trick in a row and fourth this season. It was also the sixth of her outstanding career.
With the win, Mount Holyoke clinched the fourth seed in next week's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament. The Lyons will host fifth seeded Springfield on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. They will enter the postseason riding a six match winning streak.
Mount Holyoke took advantage of a penalty corner opportunity to gain a 1-0 edge at the 7:54 mark. After receiving the initial injection at the top of the circle, junior midfielder Tricia Chase found classmate Taylor Hedges on the right wing. Hedges proceeded to thread a pass to Robertson, who knocked in her first goal of the day from point blank range.
The Pride answered two minutes later, when first year forward Kelly Gallo collected a feed from junior defender Lynne Donoghue and scored uncontested from the center of the circle.
From there, it was all Mount Holyoke. The Lyons exploded for three goals in the first 4:30 of the second stanza to seal things.
The first came from Robertson at the 36:34 mark, when she scooped up a rebound and placed a shot past junior goalkeeper Alison McCarthy.
Just over one minute later first year Stephanie Slysz broke into the circle and slipped a pass around Springfield's final defender to junior forward Maddy Starbranch, who took two steps and rifled a shot over McCarthy's left shoulder for her first goal of the season.
Robertson then closed out the rally with her team leading 18th goal of the season. Chase was credited with the assist on the play after Robertson redirected her drive from the top of the circle. The goal came off of a penalty corner set.
Mount Holyoke finished with slim advantages in both shots (12-11) and penalty corner opportunities (8-5). Junior goalkeeper Katie Gibson amassed five saves, while McCarthy had a pair.
Prior to the contest a senior day celebration took place to honor Melissa Hartley, Meredith Spencer-Blaetz, Amy Spekhardt, Siobhan Anderson and Haley Creed for their contributions to the Lyons' program over the last four years.
Mount Holyoke closed out its regular season with an overall record of 11-5 and a league mark of 5-3. Meanwhile, Springfield posted an 8-10 record and went 4-4 versus NEWMAC foes.
