SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Aided by a pair of tallies in the second half of the game, Colby-Sawyer College shutout Mount Holyoke College, 3-0 in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Chargers remain unbeaten and move to 4-0, while the Lyons shoulder their first loss of the season and are now 2-1.
Colby-Sawyer struck first to open the first half of action as senior midfielder Lauren Bernard (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) took advantage of a wide open lane down the middle and drove the ball home over the head of Mount Holyoke keeper Zoe Marshall (Mississauga, Ont./Cawthra Park Secondary School) at 4:19.
The Chargers lead continued to hold over the remainder of the first half and their defense was solid as it limited Mount Holyoke to just three shots in the frame. The Lyons best opportunity came with around 10 minutes to go in the opening stanza as first year forward Syry Mitchell (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) tried to chip it in on the right side, but the ball careened wide and out of play.
Colby-Sawyer continued to maintain its 1-0 advantage into the second half, keeping up pressure against the Lyons. Despite a number of solid runs for MHC, the Chargers defense continued to break up passes.
The visitors added to their lead at 63:44 as sophomore defender Tallon Tomasi (Williston, Vt./CVU) collected the pass and dribbled a few steps before firing a shot between the goalie's legs down the middle to make it a 2-0 game.
With less than 15 minutes remaining, the Lyons continued to try and break through, but the Chargers defense remained strong. Junior forward Cassidy Robinson (Lebanon, N.H./Lebanon) had a nice attempt, but the ball sailed up over the crossbar and out.
Colby-Sawyer added its third goal of the contest at 79:20 off an outstanding individual effort by first year forward Rachel Quaye (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont Regional). Battling against a Lyons defender, Quaye dribbled and spun around to the right, firing an off-angled shot that sailed into the top right corner.
Despite a late header attempt by Mitchell with just over four minutes remaining and a saved shot from Robinson in the final minute, the Lyons could not solve the Chargers, which saw sophomore goaltender Karley Hamilton (Bradford, Vt./Oxbow) post four saves.
In the Lyons goal, Marshall made eight saves on the afternoon.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Wednesday, when it hosts nationally-ranked Amherst at 7pm. The Chargers return to play on Tuesday at Gordon at 3:30pm.
Photo of Anne Shaffrey courtesy of Doug Keller.
