NORTON, Mass. - Wheaton College got a five-goal effort from Giovanna Bishop enroute to a 13-5 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) lacrosse action on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Lyons of Wheaton are now 6-4 and a perfect 3-0 in conference play, while the Lyons of MHC move to 2-8 and 0-3 in the NEWMAC.
In addition to her five goals, Bishop also posted an assist. Maddy Lahm added four goals and a draw control, while Molly Covarrubias had a goal with a game-high four assists, four draw controls and two ground balls. Defensively, Lydia Regan posted a game-best two caused turnovers.
For MHC, junior midfielder Kaitlin Braz and first year attacker Mary LaVigne each posted two goals. Braz also posted two assists, five ground balls, three draw controls and a caused turnover, while junior midfielder Leila Kouakou notched a goal and an assist with a ground ball and three draw controls. Defensively, first year Julianna Rankin had five ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover, while junior captain Julia Lankin added three ground balls and two draw controls.
Wheaton opened the game's scoring with a 5-0 run, powered by a pair of goals from Bishop. Covarrubias grabbed the first tally just 30 seconds into the frame, going on to assist on a score by Lilly Callahan soon after for the 2-0 advantage. Bishop then made it a 3-0 game at 25:46 with an unassisted tally.
Lahm and Bishop then combined with back-to-back goals just 50 seconds apart, making it a 5-0 game with 7:03 to play. Braz was able to break-up the shutout, connecting on a pass from senior captain Charlotte Wagner with 4:46 to play, but Peters scored with 10 seconds remaining to send Wheaton into halftime with a 6-1 lead.
The homestanding Lyons saw Bishop score less than 30 seconds into the second stanza, but MHC powered back as Braz converted a helper from Kouakou at 28:13. Consecutive tallies from Lahm made it a 9-2 game, but Kouakou was able to break up the run, scoring off a feed from Braz with 25:19 on the clock.
After trading goals mid-way through, Wheaton was able to grab three straight, including two from Bishop for the 13-4 lead. Mount Holyoke saw LaVigne notch her second of the game with 5:36 to play. That goal would close out the game's scoring as both teams saw their defense hold strong.
In goal, Wheaton saw Molly Witten earn the victory, stopping five shots in 41:00 minutes of action. Galicia Rothe played the final 19:00, allowing one goal while not recording any saves. For Mount Holyoke, senior Isa Rodriguez shouldered the loss, making eight stops in the first half. First year Mia Wysocki played the second half, making five saves in relief.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Springfield College at 12pm on the MHC Turf Field.
