Soccer Punches Ticket to NEWMAC Tournament With Convincing Win Over Coast Guard, 9-2

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NEW LONDON, Conn. (Oct. 27, 2009) – Using a balanced offensive attack, the Mount Holyoke College women’s soccer team cruised to a convincing 9-2 victory over the Coast Guard Academy this evening in New London, Conn. With their fourth straight win over the Bears, the Lyons secured a spot in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament. They will hit the road for a Quarterfinal Round match against top seeded Wellesley College on Saturday.

Eight players recorded points and seven scored goals for Mount Holyoke, which closed its regular season with an overall record of 4-11-1 and a league mark of 3-5-1. The Lyons nine goals were their most since the 1984 season, when they blanked Colby-Sawyer College 11-0.

Mount Holyoke pulled away with four unanswered goals over a span of 5:31 midway through the opening frame. Senior midfielder Jesse Sugrue used a feed from classmate Perry Markell to get the guests on the board at the 17:52 mark. Just over two minutes later, Markell set up a goal by senior forward Lauren Orr. Orr registered her second tally of the day in the 22nd minute, and Markell converted a penalty kick to cap off the scoring explosion at the 21:23 mark.

Coast Guard sliced the deficit to 4-1 in the 29th minute on a goal by first year midfielder Elizabeth Kenis, but the Lyons responded less than one minute later, when sophomore midfielder Mary Cooke found the back of the net to push the cushion to 5-1.

Mount Holyoke then outscored the Bears 4-1 in the second stanza to seal things. Following Sugrue’s second goal of the night at the 55:21 mark, forwards Courtney Carrier and Brooke Winter-Potter tallied in the 65th and 74th minutes, respectively, to extend the lead to 8-1.

The Lyons run was snapped by senior Katie Kurek, who found the back of the net in the 79th minute to make the score 8-2.

From there, sophomore forward Emily Lomax capitalized on an assist by first year midfielder Mallory Phaneuf to round out the scoring in the 80th minute.

Mount Holyoke finished with advantages in both shots (18-5) and corner kick chances (5-2). First year goalkeeper Ingibjörg Magnúsdóttir was credited with the win despite making no saves. At the other end, sophomore Mary Mills made eight stops for the hosts.