SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Four different players netted goals, including a game-best three from sophomore forward Charlotte Wagner, to lead the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team to a 7-0 win over Nichols College on Tuesday evening. With the victory, the 17th-ranked Lyons move to 2-0 overall, while the Bison slip to 0-2 on the young season.
Junior forward Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) got things going for MHC just 1:28 into the contest after she tipped in a shot that came off the stick of senior captain Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) from the top of the circle.
Bell would strike for the Lyons a second time at the 16:23 mark after she found the loose ball, which had been saved by keeper Molly Melanson (Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury). Junior midfielder Sarah LaQuerre (Old Orchard Beach, Maine/Cheverus) originated the play after her shot from the right side was kick-saved by Melanson and collected by Bell.
Nichols had a nice chance off a corner at 19:04 as junior defender Meghan Dombkowski (Sagaponack, N.Y./East Hampton) blasted in a shot from the right side of the circle, but MHC goalie Liz DiCesare (Westford, Mass./Bishop Guertin) made a solid kick save to move the ball out of the zone.
LaQuerre went on to make it a 3-0 game at 22:28, carrying the ball into the circle for an off-angle shot on the left side that made its way through Melanson's legs. First year midfielder Sophie Perekslis (Sheffield, Mass./Berkshire School) then pushed it to a 4-0 game at 28:48 as she fired in her second of the season from the left side.
Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) closed out the scoring with a minute and a half to go in the first half with her first of the night. Off a pass from the right by LaQuerre, Wagner backhanded it around the goalie and in on the left side of the open net.
In the second half, Wagner scored at 42:22 with a nice shot from the far side of the circle to make it a 6-0 advantage for the Lyons. Nichols, who switched to sophomore Katherine Cotton (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) to start the second half, saw their goalie make a number of outstanding stops, including a high arching ball from LaQuerre, which Cotton batted down and away.
Nichols had an outstanding chance to get on the board at the 50:24 mark as first year Hannah Redstone (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley) found herself with an open net after the MHC goalie was drawn out on the corner. Firing it in, her shot was stopped by the quick stick of senior defender Allison Slysz (Hatfield, Mass./Smith Academy), who fired it out of the circle.
Wagner would add her final tally of the game with less than 10 minutes to play to cap the scoring for the home team.
The Lyons held a 37-5 advantage in shots and had a 10-3 edge on corner shots for the game. In goal, MHC's DiCesare posted the victory, stopping one shot over 31:52 of action. Sophomore Ally Tessier (Coventry, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey School) came on for 21:51, stopping a shot, while classmate Mariesa Mazzone (Gilroy, Calif./Gilroy) played the final 16:17 – she was not forced to make any stops.
For the Bison, Melanson shouldered the loss, stopping four shots in the first half. Cotton came on for the second stanza and made an astounding 14 saves in the half.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Troy, N.Y., for a 2pm match at Rensselaer. Nichols is also in action on Saturday, hosting Mount Ida at 11am.