LINK TO THE NEWMAC RELEASE / LYONS POSTSEASON HISTORY
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) has released the seedings for the upcoming Women's Lacrosse Tournament and the Mount Holyoke College squad enters as the sixth-seed and will play on Saturday at Wellesley in the Quarterfinals (1pm).
Led by eighth-year head coach Miriam Esber, the Lyons are currently 6-9, owning a 3-5 mark in the NEWMAC standings. Mount Holyoke earned the sixth-seed for the quarterfinals after defeating Smith College, 16-5, on Wednesday evening. The victory, coupled with an Emerson loss, gave the Lyons their tournament berth.
Mount Holyoke, which has appeared in 20 of the last 22 conference tournaments, rank among the NEWMAC's best in several categories. Among the most prominent include, third in saves (144), fourth in free position goals (32-75), ground balls (290) and draw controls (179). The Lyons are also fifth in the conference in assists (67) and caused turnovers (103), as well as sixth in goals (151).
Individually, the Lyons are led in scoring by junior captain and attacker Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow), who boasts 21 goals and team-high's in both assists (36) and points (57.). A starter in all 15 games, Ryan ranks second in the NEWMAC in assists and is also sixth in overall points.
Senior captain and midfielder Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) is currently second overall with a team-high 44 goals with seven assists for 51 points, as a starter in all 15 games. In addition to ranking fifth in the NEWMAC in goals, Kilburn is also the conference leader in both draw controls (74) and caused turnovers (35). Rounding out the top three is junior attacker Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson), who has 35 goals and 15 assists for 50 points.
Defensively, Mount Holyoke has been anchored by sophomore Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School), who is 6-9 on the season. She has an 11.12 goals against average, coupled with a 46.7% save percentage. Rodriguez has made 142 saves on the season over 874:08 minutes of action. Among the NEWMAC leaders, she is second in saves, third in save percentage and fifth in overall wins.
The Lyons square-off at third-seeded Wellesley on Saturday at 1pm. This is the second meeting of the season between the two squads, which faced one another on April 18 – an 11-5 victory for the Blue. Live stat and video links for the match-up can be found at http://athletics.mtholyoke.edu/sports/wlax/2014-15/schedule.
