SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Senior Laurissa Montigny and junior Jayonna Montigny supplied the scoring for the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team, as the Lyons defeated Westfield State University 2-1 in a non-conference game Wednesday night at the MHC Turf and Track.
In their first home game of the season, the Lyons (1-1) outplayed the Owls (1-2), but not enough to create much breathing room.
Mount Holyoke had a 13-7 advantage in penalty corners and outshot Westfield State by an 18-10 margin, including a 4-0 difference in the first quarter, a 9-5 edge in the third quarter and a 2-0 edge in the fourth. Westfield outshot Mount Holyoke 5-3 in the second quarter as the Owls evened the score before halftime.
Mount Holyoke scored first with 2:16 remaining in the first quarter, on the Lyons' fourth penalty corner, but the first one with first-year Scout Climie (Guilford, Conn.) inserting the ball instead of Jayonna Montigny (Enfield, Conn.). Climie's short pass to Laurissa Montigny on the left side of the circle gave the senior ample time to crank a hard shot past goalkeeper Emma Gniadek for the game's first goal. It was Laurissa Montigny's (Enfield, Conn.) second goal this season and the seventh of her career. Climie's assist was the first for the Lyons this season.
Westfield State evened the score four minutes into the second quarter, on the Owls' first shot attempt of the game. Sadie Stauffer waded into the left side of the circle and struck a backhand shot from 10 yards out that passed through the Lyons' defense and found the back of the cage, inside the far right post.
Mount Holyoke regained the lead over 20 minutes later in game time, with 4:01 remaining in the third quarter. Sophomore Anna Induni's (Manchester, N.H.) initial shot was turned away by Gniadek, but the long rebound came out to a charging Jayonna Montigny, who redirected the ball back at the goal and in against a stunned Westfield State defense.
Westfield State earned three consecutive penalty corners in the final four seconds of the third quarter, but Mount Holyoke held off the Owls' big threat. On the second of those corners, Westfield State's Erin Lane had her initial shot blocked by Mount Holyoke junior Sophia Guziewicz (Enfield, N.H.), and Lane's follow-up shot was stopped by Lyons junior goalie Rachel Katzenberg (Reisterstown, Md.).
The win is Mount Holyoke's eighth straight against Westfield State, dating back to 2011, and it increases the Lyons' all-time record to 10-1 against the Owls.
Gniadek finished with six saves in the game, while Katzenberg had two for Mount Holyoke.
Mount Holyoke travels to Waterville, Maine, this weekend for a pair of games at Thomas College. The Lyons face the host Terriers on Saturday at 11am, then play UMaine-Farmington on Sunday at noon. Westfield State will play at UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday at 1pm.
