SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Nov. 9, 2011) – Led by senior forward Shara Robertson, the third-seeded Mount Holyoke College field hockey team cruised to an 8-1 triumph over sixth-seeded Worcester State University in the quarterfinal round of the ECAC Tournament this evening. Robertson racked up two goals and two assists for the hosts, who improved to 14-5 on the year.
With the win, the Lyons punched their ticket to the ECAC Semifinals, where they will face off against the second-seeded University of New England on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Top-seeded Plymouth State University will host both semifinals, as well as Sunday's ECAC Championship.
On the other side of the bracket, fourth-seeded Bridgewater State University edged fifth-seeded Wheaton College 4-3 in overtime. The Bears will meet up with Plymouth State in Saturday's first semifinal at 11:00 a.m.
Worcester State closed out its 2011 campaign with an overall record of 10-9. The Lancers went 6-5 in league play before falling to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth 4-1 in the quarterfinal round of the Little East Conference Tournament.
Mount Holyoke jumped out to a 1-0 edge just 2:52 into the contest, when first year midfielder Kirsten Kilburn collected an injection from Robertson and rifled a shot past first year goalkeeper Sydney Dionis from the top of the arc.
The Lancers evened things up on a goal by sophomore midfielder Lindsey McGeary less than three minutes later. After receiving a short cross from senior forward Sarah Cozzens, she snapped a shot past senior goalkeeper Katie Gibson from close range. It was her 10th tally of the fall.
From there, it was all Mount Holyoke. The hosts finished the match with six unanswered goals from five different players.
Robertson got the rally started with an unassisted tally at the 7:38 mark. After collecting a long pass from the midfield, she dribbled around one defender and slipped a shot past Dionis.
Junior forward Angelica Pascual then scored her fourth goal of the year off a short pass from sophomore forward Stephanie Slysz to give the Lyons a 3-1 advantage at the break.
Mount Holyoke tacked on four more goals in the second half to ice things.
The first came from Robertson, who tipped in a Slysz pass from the doorstep at the 37:17 mark. It was her team-leading 22nd tally of the fall.
Kilburn pounded in another shot from the top of the circle to give the Lyons a 5-1 cushion two minutes later. This time, the assist came from senior defender Tricia Chase. It was the rookie's 15th goal this year.
Not to be outdone, senior forward Jess Fajardo extended the lead to 6-1 with her 16th goal of the season with 20 minutes remaining in regulation. After collecting a short cross from Slysz, she slotted a shot past junior goalkeeper Rebecca Mullen from the middle of the circle.
Slysz scored one of her own off a Robertson injection just over a minute later. Her five points and three assists in the match were both career highs.
First year midfielder Aurora Rougeau closed out the scoring with a blast from the right wing in the 55th minute. Chase set up the goal with her second assist of the day.
Mount Holyoke finished with overwhelming advantages in both shots (29-5) and corners (13-2). Gibson needed to make just two saves to earn her 14th win of the year. At the other end, Dionis turned away one shot before giving way to Mullen, who made nine stops over the final 48 minutes.
The Lyons are participating in the ECAC Tournament for the fifth time in program history. They were crowned champions in 2002 and also made appearances in 1999, 2000 and 2005.
