SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Three players had multiple point efforts, including a goal and two assists from junior forward Charlotte Wagner, as the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team defeated Western New England University, 5-1 in non-conference action on Thursday evening.
With the victory, the Lyons extend their winning streak to five, improving to 10-5 overall. The Golden Bears slip to 7-8 on the season.
Mount Holyoke opened the game's scoring just 2:29 in as Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) scored off her own rebound. Firing a shot in from the top of the goal circle, Golden Bears keeper Grace Trupe (Cardiff, Calif./San Diego Torrey Pines) made a great kick save, but the ball rebounded right back to Wagner, who shot it into the open right corner.
The Lyons tacked on their second goal of the game at 33:44 when sophomore forward Sophie Perekslis (Millerton, N.Y./Berkshire School) fired a shot into the open left corner. Senior midfielder Sarah LaQuerre (Old Orchard Beach, Maine/Cheverus) earned the assist after she sent a nice pass through traffic in the middle.
Mount Holyoke, which held a 16-2 lead in shots for the opening stanza, continued its momentum in the second half as first year midfielder Colby Newsham (Harvard, Mass./Bromfield School) connected on a quick pass from Wagner at 39:02 to make it a 3-0 game.
It would be Perekslis once again at 45:18 as senior forward Anna Hartman (Montpelier, Vt./Montpelier) collected the ball and dribbled left before turning toward the middle and clipping a short pass to the right. Perekslis was there to drive the ball in for the 4-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, the Lyons added their fifth and final goal of the contest as senior forward Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) corralled a pass from the top by Wagner and put a shot through the keeper's legs.
Western New England finally broke through at 51:41 when first year forward Lana Felice (Pawling, N.Y./Pawling) sent a hard shot toward the goal, going just wide of MHC keeper Liz DiCesare (Westford, Mass./Bishop Guertin). Sophomore forward Brittany DeLima (Branchville, N.J./High Point Regional) was there at the right corner, tapping it in to cut the deficit to 5-1.
The Golden Bears had another great opportunity to pull the score closer with eight minutes to go as first year midfielder Emily Antinozzi (Rye, N.Y./Rye) beat an MHC defender and launched a shot that went just inches wide.
Mount Holyoke, which held a 24-9 advantage in shots and a 12-7 edge in penalty corners, saw DiCesare finish with four saves over 56:39 of action. Junior Ally Tessier (Coventry, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey School) came on for the final 13:21 of relief, making one stop.
Western New England saw Trupe record 11 saves over 51:41 played. She was relieved over the final 18:19 by sophomore Dominique Corveddu (Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y./Croton-Harmon), who made one save. Senior defender Kaitlyn Labbe (Augusta, Maine/Cony) also had a defensive save for the visitors.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Mount Holyoke travels to MIT (12pm), while Western New England is at Salve Regina (1pm).
