BENNINGINGTON, Vt. – Led by a goal and three assists from junior Kara Singleton, the Mount Holyoke College soccer team posted a 5-1 win at Southern Vermont College on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Lyons move to 3-1 on the season, while the Mountaineers slip to 0-4.
MHC controlled the ball for a majority of the opening five minutes, getting chances with through balls that were received by the attackers behind the SVC defensive line. Solid play in the backfield by the Mountaineers, however, denied the Lyons from having any great looks on net. Southern Vermont was then able to get its offensive attack going and pinned the ball down in the Lyons' defensive third for a stretch.
Mount Holyoke saw a great chance pass by with 33:10 to go in the first when the Lyons moved the ball to the right side and across the box to Singleton who shot it just wide to the left side of the frame. The Mountaineers were then able to work the ball down to the left corner as junior Abby Rosas (Manteca, Calif.) crossed the ball through the box, untouched until it found the feet of senior captain Jocelyn Ortega (Chula Vista, Calif.) who finished a golden opportunity for her first of the season in the 21st minute.
Southern Vermont saw itself on the end of many 50/50 balls, including MHC attempts to go over the top and into the Mountaineer defensive end, to prevent the Lyons from netting any in the opening stanza.
It would not take long for Mount Holyoke to even things up as Singleton put a corner kick right to sophomore Ashleigh Hartsock (Stevensville, Md.) who put it home for her second of the year, just seven minutes into the second half.
The Lyons then kept up the pressure and prevented SVC from gaining too much momentum as the score remained deadlocked until the 71st minute; as the ball bounced around the Southern Vermont box, junior captain Hannah Yee (Amherst, Mass.) jumped up and got her head on the ball which then deflected off the crossbar and over the goal line for her second tally of the season.
Singleton then found freshman Syry Mitchell (Amherst, Mass.) who netted her first collegiate goal at the 73:48 mark off another corner kick. Singleton would add her third assist on a nice cross from the left side to freshman Autumn Buck (Laurel Springs, N.J.) and then score one of her own late in the game for her first of the season for the eventual 5-1 tally.
Mount Holyoke freshman keeper Zoe Marshall (Mississauga, Ontario) had one save on the day to move to 2-1 on the season while Mountaineer sophomore Katie Raymond (Bristol, Conn.) stopped 13 Lyon shots in the loss (0-4).
The Mountaineers (0-4) continue the home stand with a 4 p.m. Tuesday match against New England College, and Mount Holyoke (3-1) turns to its Tuesday afternoon match at Western New England University, kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Story and Photo courtesy of Michael Nosek, Southern Vermont Sports Information
