Lacrosse Cruises Past Wheaton in NEWMAC Quarterfinals, 15-6

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (April 28, 2010) – Senior midfielder Peggy Wefald lifted the third seeded Mount Holyoke College women’s lacrosse team to a convincing 15-6 triumph over sixth seeded Wheaton College in the Quarterfinal Round of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament this evening at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field. It was the Lyons third win in a row and their first over Wheaton since the 1998 season. They had fallen in each of the previous 15 meetings between the programs.

With the win, Mount Holyoke (10-5, 3-3 NEWMAC) secured a spot in Saturday’s NEWMAC Semifinals. The Lyons will face off against second seeded Springfield College, which advanced by way of an 18-3 victory over seventh seeded Smith College. Game time is slated for 1:30 p.m. When the two squads met during the regular season on April 13, Mount Holyoke picked up a thrilling 12-11 double overtime triumph. The Lyons will be making their first appearance in the NEWMAC Semifinals since the 2006 season, when they were bounced 15-12 by Wheaton. They earned Conference titles in 1993 and 1994.

On the other side of the bracket, fifth seeded MIT edged fourth seeded Wellesley. The Engineers will meet up with top seeded Babson College in the other Semifinal tilt at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both Semifinal Round contests, as well as the Championship, will be take place at Babson’s MacDowell Field.

Wefald fueled the high-powered Mount Holyoke offensive attack with seven goals and one assist. She will enter the weekend with 68 goals, a new program single season record. The previous mark of 66 goals was established by Caitlin Taylor ’06 in 2005. Wefald has scored three times or more on 12 times this spring. The Lyons also received a boost from senior midfielder Perry Markell, who contributed three goals, one assist, 14 draw controls and five caused turnovers. Junior attacker Clara Raugei chipped in with a hat trick.

Wheaton was paced by junior midfielder Tess Meyer and sophomore attacker Hailey Colburn, who recorded two goals apiece. Sophomore midfielder Sydney Ferguson and first year attacker Kristen Palmer also netted goals for the guests.

After falling behind 3-0 in the early going, Mount Holyoke exploded for four goals over a span of 2:01 to gain the lead for the first time. The Lyons closed out the first half with three more unanswered goals to take a 9-5 edge into the break. Wefald found the back of the net four times before the intermission. Meanwhile, Markell scored three times.

The hosts continued to roll in the second stanza, outscoring Wheaton 6-1 to put things out of reach. Wefald led the charge with three more goals.

Mount Holyoke finished with large advantages in shots (34-14) and draw controls (18-4). Senior goalkeeper Jessica Brezicha was credited with the win after stopping four shots over the final 53:56. At the other end, junior Marianna Marcellino and first year Stephanie Hoomis split time between the pipes for Wheaton. Marcellino made one save in 24:51, while Hoomis turned away 11 shots in 35:09.

The Lyons 10 wins this year are their most since the 1995 season, when they posted a 10-6 mark under the direction of longtime head coach Mike Hyer. With their 15 goals this evening, they established a new program single season high of 218 in the category. They had previously scored 212 times in both 1990 and 2006.

Wheaton closed out its 2010 campaign with an overall record of 5-11 and a league mark of 2-4.