SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 26, 2011) – Led by senior midfielder Mary Cooke and junior forward Kiana Lussier, the Mount Holyoke College soccer team rolled to a 3-0 triumph over the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts this afternoon at the Mount Holyoke Soccer Field. With the win, the Lyons improved to 5-10-0 on the year. It was their second victory in their last three outings.

Cooke got Mount Holyoke on the board just 3:20 into the contest, when she stole a pass in the box and beat senior goalkeeper Jen Wehner from point blank range. It was her fourth tally of the fall.

Lussier tacked on two more goals in the second half to put things away for the Lyons.

The first came in the 64^th minute, when she took a through pass from sophomore midfielder Katie Dupuis, dribbled past several MCLA defenders into the box and snapped past sophomore goalkeeper Danielle Heinsohn.

Lussier then closed out the scoring with another tally at the 79:26 mark. This time, she took a short cross from the left side by Cooke and buried her third goal of the season from close range.

Mount Holyoke outshot the Trailblazers 24-10.

The Lyons were paced on the defensive end by senior Caddy Tootell, first year Sana Barclay, junior Dara Ereshena and junior Veronica Farmer.

First year Mackenzie Randall got the start between the pipes for the hosts. She made three saves in 75 minutes before giving way to junior Emily Shank, who did not face a shot on goal down the stretch.

It was Mount Holyoke's first shutout since October 20, 2009, when it edged Clark University 1-0.

Wehner and Heinsohn combined for 10 saves for the Trailblazers.

Both squads will round out their 2011 schedules at home against conference opponents on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mount Holyoke (5-10-0, 2-6-0 NEWMAC) will host nationally ranked Springfield College, while MCLA (6-9-1, 2-3-1 MASCAC) will entertain Bridgewater State University.

Photos by Leila Quinn '12