DANBURY, Conn. (Apr. 4, 2013) – Mount Holyoke got three goals each from senior Molly Macdonald and first year Julia Bell enroute to an 8-7 non-conference victory over Western Connecticut State University of Thursday evening at the Westside Athletic Complex. With the victory, the Lyons move to 7-2 overall, while Western is now 4-4 on the year.
Scoring for the Colonials were senior Nicole Perrone (Brookfield, CT) with three goals, junior Kirsten Hudock (Newtown, CT) with two goals, and senior Lindsay Gorman (Killingworth, CT) and freshman Emma Theiler (Waterford, CT) who added one goal apiece. Junior keeper Karli Portnoy (Sea Cliff, NY) recorded 15 saves on the night.
Macdonald (Milton, MA) and Bell (Longmeadow, MA) led the way for the Lyons, while senior Christina Horimoto (San Jose, CA) and sophomore Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, CT) each scored once for MHC. In goal, senior Liz Malenfant (Nantucket, MA) made nine stops.
Western got on the board first when Theiler scored an unassisted goal in the game's third minute. Mount Holyoke then took a 2-1 lead with back to back goals scored less than a minute apart. Free-position goals scored by Perrone and Gorman put Western back on top, 3-2, but one minute later Macdonald scored her second goal to knot the score at 3-3. Perrone's second goal put Western back on top, 4-3, with 15 minutes remaining in the half, but defense and goaltending dominated the balance of the first half and the score remained 4-3 at intermission.
Bell evened the game for Mount Holyoke with an unassisted goal in the fourth minute of the second half, and Kilburn gave the Lyons a 5-4 lead after converting a free-position opportunity two minutes later. A successful free-position attempt by Hudock tied the score at 5-all, but then Mount Holyoke put together a rally that made the difference in the game.
At the 10:43 mark, Bell scored to start a 3-0 Mount Holyoke run that ended at the 9:03 mark with a goal by Horimoto. Perrone scored her third goal of the game less than a minute later, but Mount Holyoke's ball-control offense was successful in preventing Western from having an offensive opportunity until the final minute. Hudock scored an unassisted goal with 39 seconds remaining in the game, but Western was never able to take another shot, giving Mount Holyoke the 8-7 victory.
For the game, Mount Holyoke held a 24-22 advantage in shots, while both teams collected 32 ground balls. With the loss, Western moves to 4-4 on the season. The Colonials return to action on Saturday when they travel to play Little East Conference rival Rhode Island College (1pm). Mount Holyoke is also in action on Saturday, hosting MIT for a NEWMAC game (12pm).
Story courtesy of Scott Russell, Western Connecticut State Sports Information. Photo courtesy of Richard Orr Sports Photography.
