BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Despite a game-best six assists from senior captain and attacker Catherine Ryan, the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team shouldered a 17-9 loss to Bridgewater State University in the season opener for both teams.
The homestanding Bears saw senior Marissa Yowell and junior Melissa Renauld - both attackers - post a game-high six goals, while first year midfielder Elizabeth Ettridge had a pair of tallies to go along with two assists. Renauld also added a helper and sophomore attack Gabby Reinold had two goals. In the cage, junior Allie Forman picked up the victory with a nine-save effort.
For the Lyons, senior captain and attacker Julia Bell had five goals, while sophomore midfielder Leila Kouakou posted two tallies. Junior attack Charlotte Wagner and senior Katherine Kayser-Hirsh also had a goal apiece. Between the pipes, junior Isa Rodriguez shouldered the loss, making nine stops over 57:18 minutes. She was relieved by sophomore Clarissa Leight, who did make any saves over the final 2:42.
Mount Holyoke opened the game's scoring as Kayser-Hirsh found the back of the net at 28:07 on a feed from Ryan. The Bears quickly answered as Ettridge scored, followed by back-to-back scores from Yowell to make it a 3-1 advantage. Bell answered for the Lyons with her first of the game, but tallies from Yowell and Renauld put the home team back up by three (5-2) with 22:17 to go in the opening half.
The Lyons' cut the deficit to 5-4 with 16:37 to go after Bell and Wagner both connected off feeds from Ryan, but Bridgewater State went on a 5-1 run over the final 13:38, including two scores each from Yowell and Renauld to take a 10-5 lead at halftime.
In the second half of action, the Lyons quickly closed the gap to 10-9 through the first 10 minutes. Bell found the back of the net three times, including two assisted by Ryan, while Kouakou fired in a free position goal. Bridgewater State countered though, going on a 7-0 run to close out the contest, powered by a three-goal effort from Renauld.
Bridgewater State held the advantage in shots with a 34-22 edge, while also posting a 26-22 advantage in ground balls. Both teams had a free position tally (MHC 1-4, BSU 1-5), while the Bears held a 19-9 clip on the draw control.
The Bears return to action on Tuesday, hosting UMass-Dartmouth at 3:30pm. The Lyons make their home debut on Wednesday, welcoming Westfield State at 5pm. Fans who are unable to attend can follow live via stats and video HERE.