NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – For the second time this season, sophomore Julia Bell notched a game-high nine goals, this time leading the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team to an 18-9 victory over Smith College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.
Bell (Longmeadow, Mass.), who recorded nine goals earlier this season against New England College, added an assist to go along with three ground balls and six draw controls. Junior captain Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn.) totaled six goals and led all student-athletes with 14 draw controls and four ground balls. With her 14 draw controls, Kilburn became Mount Holyoke's all-time career leader in the category. She has now recorded 252 in her career, surpassing Peggy Wefald '10, who recorded 248 over her four years.
Additionally for the Lyons, sophomore Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass.) added a hat-trick, while senior captain Brianne Phelan (Quincy, Mass.) caused three turnovers. Sophomore goalie Katherine Kayser-Hirsh (Amherst, Mass.) halted seven shots for the guests.
Jenny Estes (Falmouth, Mass.) led the Pioneers with three goals as Olivia Timmins (Medford, Mass.) and Anne Zawacki (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) scored two each while Petru Bester (Deep River, Conn.) and Jessica Lillquist (East Lyme, Conn.) chipped in with one apiece. Zawacki also caused a trio of turnovers and corralled a pair of draw controls. In goal, Merric Kallfelz (North Easton, Mass.) turned away 16 shots for the Pioneers.
Kilburn struck just 2:20 into the game and Timmins responded for the Pioneers 21 seconds later. Bell found the back of the net at 25:40 while Timmins evened it back up at 22:35. Bell began a 4-0 run at the 22:33 mark which was halted by Zawacki with 12:55 left in the frame. The Lyons scored three more to take a 9-3 lead into the break.
Mount Holyoke increased its lead with two more in the first 1:16 of the second stanza. Lillquist halted the 5-0 spurt with her 40th goal of the season at 27:09. Estes then scored a pair of goals 24 seconds apart to bring the game within five.
Less than a minute later, both Bell and Ryan found the back of the net as the Lyons held a 13-6 lead with just over 23 minutes to go. Estes buried a Bester feed at 19:19 before Mount Holyoke scored four more. Zawacki interrupted Bell's bid for three in-a-row, and the running clock, with her 20th of the season at 8:21.
Bell pushed the Lyons advantage back to 10, notching her NEWMAC leading 64th goal and 85th point of the season, with 6:06 to play. Bester scored the final tally of the game with 3:47 showing on the scoreboard.
The Lyons enjoyed a 42-24 advantage in shots and a 19-8 lead in ground balls and a 21-8 margin in draw controls. Smith, meanwhile, outscored Mount Holyoke, 8-5, in free position shots.
Smith (2-13, 0-6) wraps up the regular season with a 1:00 p.m. home game against Wheaton on Senior Day. Mount Holyoke (8-6, 3-3) hits the road for a 1:00 p.m. regular season finale at MIT, also on Saturday.
Major contributions of the game story courtesy of Mark Therrien, Smith Sports Information. Photo of Bell courtesy of Doug Keller.
