SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Powered by a game-best four goals from junior midfielder Meredith Weber, Emerson College posted a 14-6 victory over Mount Holyoke College in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both teams on Wednesday. The Lions of Emerson are now 5-3 and 1-0 in conference play, while the Lyons of MHC slip to 1-5 and 0-1 in the NEWMAC.
It was a close game after the opening 30 minutes of action, but Emerson quickly broke things open, going on a 3-0 run to build up a 9-5 advantage. Weber (West Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell), who scored to end the first stanza, tacked on her fourth of the contest at 27:20. Back-to-back scores from sophomore attack Tara Windsor (Palm City, Fla./Martin County) gave the visitors the four-goal (9-5) lead with 18:57 to play.
The Lyons counted with their only goal of the second half as senior captain and attack Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) rifled in a shot past Emerson keeper Kristina Modica (East Moriches, N.Y./Westhampton Beach) off a feed from classmate and fellow captain Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow). The assist for Ryan, who is MHC's all-time leader in career helpers, also marked the senior attacker's 200th career point in (65g-135a).
With just over nine minutes remaining, Emerson sealed the game, posting a 5-0 run to close things out. Senior attack Guerin Morissette (Georgetown, Maine/Morse) posted a pair of tallies with an assist during the run, while Windsor added a goal and a helper.
It was Mount Holyoke who opened the game's scoring as junior attack Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) converted a feed from Ryan in the opening 59 seconds. The Lyons continued to power forward as sophomore Leila Kouakou (Leeds, Mass./Northampton), Bell and Wagner all poured in tallies to make it a 4-0 advantage.
Weber got the visitors on the board at 16:33, but Ryan got the goal back for MHC, firing past Modica at 13:04. Emerson got into a rhythm over the final 9:07 of the half as senior midfielder Kate Lemire (Scituate, Mass./Scituate) scored, followed by a nice tallied on the right side by first year midfielder Mia Doyon.
Emerson would add two more goals off the stick of Weber, sandwiched around a tally from Morissette, to send the Lions into the half with the 7-5 lead.
In addition to Weber's four goals and an assist, Emerson also saw Morissette record three goals with two helpers. Windsor added three goals and an assist, while Doyon also had two goals. In the cage Modica earned the victory with a seven save effort.
For MHC, Wagner and Bell each recorded two tallies with an assist. Ryan had a game-best three assists, while Kouakou also added a goal and a helper. Junior keeper Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School) shouldered the loss with a 12-save performance.
On the overall stat sheet, Emerson held a 33-19 advantage in shots, owning a 20-15 edge in ground balls and a 12-9 difference in draw controls. The Lions went 14-16 on the clear, while MHC was 10-16 on the evening.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday as Mount Holyoke welcomes Babson (12pm), while Emerson heads to Northampton to play Smith (1pm).
