WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Seven different players found the back of the net as the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team opened spring break action with a 15-11 victory over Clarkson University on Monday at Lake Lytal Park. With the win, the Lyons move to 2-3 on the season, while the Golden Knights slip to 1-3 overall.
Clarkson opened the game's scoring less than three minutes in as sophomore Christine Wright (Watertown, N.Y./Immaculate Heart Central) tallied on the free position. The Lyons struck minutes later as back-to-back unassisted scores from junior captain Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) and sophomore Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham and Monson) put MHC up by a 2-1 edge.
The score continued to flip-flop as Clarkson netted two more goals, including the second from Wright at 11:14, but a three goal stretch for Mount Holyoke put the Lyons up by a 5-3 margin with 4:30 remaining in the opening half. A goal from first year Rachel Kenyon (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Forks) closed the gap for the Golden Knights at 5-4, but tallies from senior Brianne Phelan (Quincy, Mass./Quincy) and Kilburn made it a 7-4 advantage heading into halftime.
In the second half, Clarkson came out firing as junior Abby Doyle (Syracuse, N.Y./Corcoran) scored just 50 seconds into the frame. Bell, who is currently ranked third in the nation in points per game, countered with her second tally of the contest from the free position to push the MHC advantage back to three (8-5) at 28:50.
The Golden Knights continued to fight back and pulled to within 8-7 as goals from Wright and junior Danielle Faivus brought the game closer, but Bell answered with her third of the game and the Lyons later added goals from sophomore Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, 
Mass./Longmeadow) and Kilburn to make it an 11-8 contest with 15:19 to play.
Clarkson once again brought it back to a one-goal deficit (11-10), aided by Wright's fourth tally of the game, but the Lyons scored four of the next five goals in the game, including two each from seniors Naomi Miller (Augusta, Maine/Cony) and Liz Randolph (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug) to seal the win.
In addition to Bell, who also added two assists, the Lyons saw Kilburn post three goals, while Ryan had two tallies and a game-best four assists. Miller, Phelan and Randolph each added two goals and first year Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) had a tally of her own. First year goalie Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School) picked up the win, stopping seven shots.
For Clarkson, Wright posted a game-best four goals, while also adding two assists. Faivus had two tallies, while first year Paige Fayette (Theresa, N.Y./Indian River) had a goal and two assists. In the cage, sophomore Dani Tani (Heuvelton, N.Y./Heuvelton) stopped five shots.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Thursday when it faces UMass-Dartmouth at 11:30am at Lake Lytal Park. Clarkson is in action on Tuesday as it also takes on UMass-Dartmouth at 7:30pm.
Photo of Randolph (12) courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
