SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 1, 2011) – The Mount Holyoke College women's lacrosse team kicked off its 2011 campaign with a 16-8 setback against Western New England College this afternoon at Golden Bear Stadium. First year attacker Liz Randolph paced the Lyons with three goals and an assist in her collegiate debut.

Mount Holyoke also received solid production from juniors Alex Crean and Hilary Bombard, who recorded two goals apiece. The Lyons remaining tally came from sophomore midfielder Katya Planson. Senior midfielder Vika Planson collected six ground balls and four draw controls, while classmate Bianca Young came up with five ground balls.

Senior attacker Jeanmarie Barbato and junior midfielder Katie Toomy racked up six points apiece to set the tone for Western New England. Barbato found the back of the net six times, while Toomy recorded three goals and three assists. Senior defender Nicole Poli and first year midfielder Kelsey Daniels also came up with hat tricks for the Golden Bears, who have now defeated the Lyons five straight times. Poli added eight caused turnovers and six ground balls.

Western New England took control of the contest with five unanswered goals over the final nine minutes of the opening period. Barbato scored three times during the rally, as the Golden Bears built an 8-2 advantage. Her fourth goal of the afternoon came with just seven seconds remaining in the half.

Randolph posted her first career goal to slice the deficit to 9-3 at the 23:29 mark. From there, Western New England created separation with three straight tallies. Barbato closed out the spurt with two more goals over a span of 11 seconds. Her sixth of the day gave the Golden Bears a 12-3 cushion with 19:26 remaining in regulation.

Bombard and Planson responded with back-to-back goals, but it was not enough. The hosts scored four of the next five times to put things away. Toomy's third of the day put her team in from 16-6 at the 8:24 mark.

Randolph completed her hat trick with a pair of goals in the waning minutes.

Western New England (1-0, 0-0 TCCC) finished with large advantages in shots (35-17), draw controls (15-9) and ground balls (36-22). Senior goalkeeper Marissa Bonitatibus came up with five saves for the Golden Bears. Meanwhile, sophomore Jamie Theophilos stopped nine shots in her collegiate debut for the Lyons.

Mount Holyoke (0-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will return to action on Saturday, when it visits Skidmore College for a non-conference clash beginning at 1:00 p.m.