SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Sept. 8, 2012) – Castleton State College put up a six-goal, first half rally enroute to a 7-2 victory over Mount Holyoke College on a rainy Saturday afternoon at the MHC Turf Field. The Spartans improve to 2-1 with the win, while the Lyons shoulder their first loss of the season and are now 2-1.
The visitors struck quickly in the contest, taking the 1-0 lead behind a quick shot from junior Rachel Preusser (Craryville, N.Y./Taconic Hills). Castleton State then struck again at 6:58 as junior Blake Wardwell (Bridgewater, Vt./Woodstock) netted the first of her three goals in the contest off a rebounded kick save by Lyons goalie Anne O'Byrne (Newbury, N.H./Proctor Academy).
Sophomore Kristy Pinkham (Brandon, Vt./Otter Valley) then made it a 3-0 advantage, blistering a shot past O'Byrne off a cross from senior Kealy Chipman (Bellows Falls, Vt./Bellows Falls). Chipman also earned the lone assist on the Spartans second goal of the game.
Following back-to-back goals from Wardwell, Preusser pushed the visitors lead to 6-0 at the 12:48 mark with her second of the contest.
Mount Holyoke fought back into the game as sophomore Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford), pictured on the right, converted one in off a penalty corner past the reach of Spartans netminder Jessica Galatioto (Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury) at 18:38.
Chipman added a goal to go along with her two assists at 32:40 to give Castleton State a 7-1 advantage at halftime.
In the second half, the Lyons closed the gap to five (7-2) after senior Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (N.H.)) knocked in the rebound of a Christine Ianni (Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill) shot, which had been kick saved by Galatioto.
Despite having a number of chances down the stretch, Mount Holyoke could not close the gap further. The Spartans, which got a 10-save effort from Galatioto, held a 19-15 advantage in shots, while the Lyons owned a 12-3 edge in penalty corners.
In goal for MHC, O'Byrne stopped three shots before giving way to sophomore Emma Ross (Glenshaw, Pa./Oakland Catholic), who also made three saves in 51:22 of action.
Mount Holyoke is back on the field on Tuesday when it travels to Amherst for a 7pm game against the Lord Jeffs. Castleton State returns to action on September 16, hosting Plymouth State at 2pm.
