SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Williams College broke open a scoreless contest with three second half tallies to best Mount Holyoke College, 3-0 in non-conference action on Wednesday evening. With the victory, the Ephs move to 2-1 on the season, while the Lyons slip to 1-3 overall.
After a tight opening half that saw the homestanding Lyons hold the slight 8-6 edge in shots, the visitors broke open the game with three unanswered scores over the final 35 minutes. Perry (Yorktown, N.Y./Deerfield Academy) got things going in the 46th minute after finding the ball on the right side of the goal. In traffic, Perry clipped it toward the middle where junior midfielder Alex Bennett (Rye, N.Y./Rye) knocked it past Lyons keeper Liz DiCesare (Westford, Mass./Bishop Guertin).
Bennett made it a 2-0 advantage for Williams less than five minutes later. On the penalty corner attempt, junior forward Hannah Goodrick (Darien, Conn./Greenwich Academy) injected to the top of the circle, where Bennett rifled a blistering shot down the middle and past DiCesare at the left corner.
Perry added an insurance goal at the 68th minute mark for the Ephs. A deflected ball off an MHC stick in front allowed Perry to find the loose ball, clipping it in at the right post for the 3-0 unassisted marker.
The Lyons were unable to generate a solid attempt despite five penalty corners in the second stanza as the visiting Ephs held MHC to just two shots in the frame. On the counterattack, Mount Holyoke had several outstanding efforts on the blueline, paced by junior Kathryn Rawson's (Old Town, Maine/Old Town) three defensive saves.
Several of Mount Holyoke's best attempts in the contest came during the opening half, including a flurry of saved shots by Williams' Margaret Draper (Belmont, Mass./Milton Academy). Early in the frame, Draper was able to fend off a pair of shots from junior midfielder Sophie Perekslis (Millerton, N.Y./Berkshire Academy) and junior captain and forward Kaitlin Braz (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic) all within a 10 second window to keep it scoreless.
Williams nearly jumped onto the board in the 30th minute as Perry caught DiCesare out of position following a penalty corner injection by senior midfielder Rachel Brissette (Larchmont, N.Y./Mamaroneck), but Rawson was there to make the stop.
For the Ephs, Draper finished with five saves, while DiCesare recorded nine stops. In addition to Rawson, the Lyons saw senior captain and defender Ruvimbo Mushavi (Harare, Zimbabwe/Arundel School) also record a defensive save.
Williams held a 22-10 advantage in shots for the game, while also edging out the Lyons on the penalty corner by a 13-12 margin.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Thomas College (Maine) for a 12pm match-up. Williams is also back on the field on Saturday, hosting Colby at 11am.
Photo courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
