New London, N.H. - September 1, 2021 - The Mount Holyoke College soccer team opened up the 2021 season in impressive fashion, as the Lyons used a late goal from Rocio Perez-Salas (Dorado, Puerto Rico) to defeat host Colby-Sawyer, 2-1, at Kelsey Soccer Field on Wednesday afternoon.

With the win, then Lyons start the year with a 1-0 record, while the Chargers drop their season-opening match. This marks the first victory for first-year head coach at Mount Holyoke College, Breena Proctor.

Sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Breen (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) posted a pair of saves and earned their first-career victory at Mount Holyoke College, while first-year Hannah Keochakian (Amherst, Mass.) also found the back of the net in the win, her first-career collegiate goal. Perez-Salas' marker was also the first of her career with the Lyons.

Keochakian opened the games scoring just 6:13 into the contest when Fionna Kennedy (Wilton, N.H.) won a ball at the midfield before sending a cross into the box that was gathered by Keochakian. From there, the first-year forward made one defender miss at the top of the box, before slipping a shot past Colby-Sawyer goalkeeper Alexis LeBreton to give the Lyons a 1-0 advantage.

LeBreton finished the contest with six saves and took the loss.

The Chargers responded just 2:38 later when Sam Bishop fired from way out, sneaking a shot into the bottom-right corner of the net, equalizing the contest at one goal apiece.

It looked as if the Lyons were going to break the 1-1 tie in the 83rd minute when Keochakian broke free from a defender, but her chance hit the cross bar and bounced out of bounds, keeping the game even.

With under three minutes to play, Perez-Salas forced a turnover in the Lyons' half before carrying the ball and distributing to Lily Connelly (Simsbury, Conn.) on the left flank. Connelly delivered a great ball into the Chargers' box, which Keochakian muscled past her defender to gain control of before dribbling toward goal, evading a tackle from LeBreton, setting up an empty-net strike for Perez-Salas.

From there, the Lyons held on tight and drained the clock with possession in the corner of the field before the buzzer rang.

Up next, Mount Holyoke College will return home to the MHC Soccer Field and will host Skidmore on Saturday, September 4 at 2 p.m.

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