CASTLETON, Vt. – Junior midfielder Kirsten Kilburn scored and added three assists to lead the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team to a 4-1 victory at Castleton State College on Sunday. With the win, the Lyons move to 7-0 on the season, while the host Spartans are now 3-3 overall.

Mount Holyoke needed less than four minutes to get on the board. The Lyons received back-to-back penalty corners and on the second, Kristen Kilburn took the ball at the top of the circle, made a move and then found Charlotte Wagner right in front for the 1-0 lead.

In the 19th minutes, Christine Ianni pushed the Mount Holyoke lead to 2-0 as Kilburn found her right in front. The Lyons extended their advantage to 3-0 at 30:16 when Kilburn rifled a shot from the top of the shooting circle after receiving a corner pass from Wagner.

Castleton broke through just before halftime. Rachel Preusser fired a great through pass to a streaking Blake Wardwell, and the senior deposited the ball into the back of the net with just 34 seconds left in the half to make it 3-1.

Both teams played excellent defense in the second half, thwarting multiple penalty corner attempts. Castleton's best chance to close the gap came in the 52nd minute, as goalie Liz DiCesare made a diving save on a breakaway attempt by Preusser.

The freshman keeper made some good saves in the last ten minutes and Victoria Beja-Glasser added a goal in the final minute for the 4-1 win. DiCesare finished with 11 saves to earn the win.

Galatioto took the loss, but was strong in net with 11 saves, ten of which came in the second half. Mount Holyoke finished with a slim 24-23 advantage in shots but had 20 penalty corners to 13 for Castleton.

The Spartans return to action on Wednesday when they host fourth-ranked Middlebury at 7 pm. Mount Holyoke is in action on Tuesday when it hosts Wesleyan at 7pm.

Story courtesy of Castleton State Sports Information.