THE MATCHUP: Another exciting season of Mount Holyoke soccer kicks off Saturday as the Lyons welcome the Bison of Nichols College. In the all-time series, it is a 1-1-0 mark between the two squads. This is the first meeting since the 2003 season. The Lyons claimed victory in the first meeting (1-0 in 2002), while the Bison posted the most recent win (2-1 in 2003).
THE MOUNT HOLYOKE LYONS: Mount Holyoke (0-0-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) returns to the pitch having tied Nichols, 1-1 in double overtime at last weekend's season-opener. Senior Kiana Lussier played the hero for the Lyons, scoring late in the first half to tie things at 1-all. Mount Holyoke had its chances in the match, especially late. Sophomore Hannah Yee had the Lyons best chance to win it when MHC was awarded a penalty kick in the second overtime, but the goalie made an outstanding save to preserve the score. In goal, sophomore Mackenzie Randall (pictured on right) made six saves. For her efforts, Lussier was named the Lyon of the Week for the period ending September 2nd..
THE ELMS BLAZERS: Elms (0-2, 0-0 NECC), which was picked to finish third in the New England Collegiate Conference preseason poll, opened its 2012 campaign last weekend with an 0-2 mark at the Kean Tournament. The Blazers fell to the host Cougars by an 8-1 margin in the opener before dropping game two, 3-0 to Richard Stockton. Elms looks to continue its success from the 2011 season after it won the NECC and made the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Blazers suffered tough graduation losses, but return three of their top ten scorers from a year ago, including junior Victoria Cebula, who had four goals for eight points. In goal, junior Hayley Zisk returns after posting a 2-3-1 record in 741:16 minutes last season. She also had a 2.43 goals against average and a .794 save percentage.
NEXT UP: Mount Holyoke travels to Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday for a 12:30pm contest, while Elms hosts MCLA on Saturday at 2pm.
