SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – First year attack Emily Young recorded a game-best six goals, including the game-winner, to lead the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) lacrosse team to a 12-11 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday.
With the win, the Engineers improve to 11-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference, while the Lyons slip to 5-7 and 2-4 in the NEWMAC.
Holding a 7-6 lead after the opening half of action, MIT grabbed momentum with a pair of goals in the first four minutes. Young (La Jolla, Calif./La Jolla) converted a solid pass from junior midfielder Isabella DiDio (Jenkintown, Pa./Germantown Friends School) for the 8-6 advantage and sophomore middie Hannah Levy (Yardley, Pa./Princeton Day School) had an unassisted marker to make it a three-goal game (9-6).
Lyons first year Leila Kouakou (Leeds, Mass./Northampton) was able to score on the free position to pull the visitors advantage back to two, but Young later converted on the free position at 13:22 and DiDio fired in a shot off a pass from first year midfielder Ashely Masucci (Windham, N.H./Central Catholic) for an 11-7 lead with 11:17 to go.
Mount Holyoke mounted a comeback over the final 9:27 as senior captain and midfielder Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) netted a pair of outstanding unassisted goals, while sophomore attack Katherine Guinee (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) added one on the free position to pull the Lyons back to within one (11-10) with 7:37 on the clock.
Young made it a two-goal game at 7:00 after she corralled a quick pass up the middle from junior midfielder Kira Schott (New Canaan, Conn./Greenwich Academy), flicking it over the shoulder of MHC goalie Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School).
Junior attack and captain Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) added a goal with 22 seconds to go, collecting her own rebound for the shot, but MHC could not get any closer as MIT grabbed possession off the ensuing draw to close out the game.
In addition to Young, the Engineers saw DiDio score four goals with an assist, while Levy added a pair of tallies. In goal, first year goalie Eva Boal (Princeton Junction, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro North) made four saves.
For the Lyons, Kilburn posted four goals, while junior attacker Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) added two goals and an assist. Sophomore attack Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) had two tallies, while Ryan added a goal and a game-best three assists. Rodriguez stopped nine shots in the loss.
MIT held the game advantage in shots by a 29-20 margin, while the Lyons owned the edge in ground balls, 22-20. The Engineers also had a 16-9 edge in draw controls, while MHC was a perfect 4-for-4 on the free position.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Wednesday, when it travels to Amherst for a 6pm contest. MIT is also in action on Wednesday, hosting Wheaton at 7pm.
