SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Julia Reny scored her second goal of the game in sudden-victory overtime, lifting Thomas College to a 3-2 win over the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team on Saturday afternoon at the MHC Turf & Track Complex.
The visiting Terriers (2-1) came back from a 2-1 deficit with Lauren Blood's game-tying goal in the 49th minute, followed by Reny's game-winner.
The Lyons (0-3) were outshot by a 26-17 margin, including 3-1 in the 5:41 of overtime. Mount Holyoke held a slight 8-7 edge in penalty corners.
Thomas got on the scoreboard first, on its second penalty corner of the game, as Reny controlled the insertion pass from Eva-Marie Stevens at the top of the circle, and slapped the ball through the defense and into the lower right corner of the goal.
Mount Holyoke evened the score early in the second quarter on a penalty corner of its own. Sophomore defender Sophia Guziewicz (Enfield, N.H.) set up in front of the Thomas goal and popped up senior Laurissa Montigny's (Enfield, Conn.) entry pass. Thomas goalie Elise Syphers reached high to redirect the ball from entering the goal, but MHC senior Mollee Malboeuf (Fitchburg, Mass.) ran in from the weak side and knocked in the rebound for the Lyons' first goal of the season and the sixth in Malboeuf's career.
Mount Holyoke then grabbed its first lead of the young season in the 35th minute, as senior Kylie Brooks (Oceanside, Calif.) chased a long loose ball down, outfought a Thomas defender to gain control, carried into the circle and beat a defenseless Syphers with a shot inside the far post.
Thomas tied the game back up in the 49th minute with a fast-break goal on the counter-attack following an MHC corner. Kallee Turner broke free and carried into the circle. Mount Holyke sophomore goalie Rachel Katzenberg (Reisterstown, Md.) moved to cut her off, and Turner then dished to the wide-open Blood, who knocked in the score on an empty goal.
Reny ended the game on a breakaway in the 7-on-7 overtime period. getting past an MHC defender in the circle and scoring on a defenseless Katzenberg.
Katzenberg finished with 12 saves, while Malboeuf and Laurissa Montigny both recorded defensive saves in the game. Syphers made seven saves to earn the victory in goal for Thomas.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Tuesday in a non-conference game at Gordon College starting at 4pm.
