SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Hannah Daniewicz scored back-to-back goals in the second half to lift Salve Regina University to a 3-2 victory over the Mount Holyoke College soccer team on Saturday afternoon, in the first meeting between the teams.
Salve Regina (3-2-4, 1-2-0 NEWMAC) won its first conference game as a member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, and dropped Mount Holyoke to 0-3 in conference play, 2-4-2 overall.
Salve Regina got the scoring started in the fourth minute of the game, as first-year Carah Leclair took control of the ball in the Mount Holyoke penalty area and was knocked down, but was able to get back on her feet and strike a hard shot into the upper right corner of the net, for her first collegiate goal.
But the Lyons tied the game at 1-1 shortly thereafter, as sophomore Charlotte Moynihan (North Attleborough, Mass.) took a beautiful through pass into the penalty area by sophomore Anna Kennedy (Glendale, Wis.) and pounded an open shot into the upper right corner of the netting for her first collegiate goal.
Salve Regina retook the lead in the 50th minute, as Olivia Tacconi delivered a perfect cross from the left side of the net to Hannah Daniewicz, who lunged to volley the ball into the net for the 2-1 lead.
The Seahawks missed a number of excellent scoring chances, none more so than a shot by Marissa Perachi in the 76th minute that caromed from the crossbar to the ground underneath before Mount Holyoke junior Sonia McCollum (Oakland, Calif.) kicked the ball out of bounds. On the resulting corner kick, another shot by Perachi was saved by sophomore goalie Clarissa Govea (Pico Rivera, Calif.).
But Daniewicz scored her second goal of the game and her fourth this season in the 81st minute to give Salve Regina a commanding 3-1 lead after all. Leclair made the goal happen by retaking the ball away from a Mount Holyoke defender in the deep right corner of the field, then striking a huge cross to the far post, where Daniewicz used her volleying skills again for her second one-touch goal of the game.
Mount Holyoke cut the lead in half in the 83rd minute, as sophomore Taryn White (Alexandria, Va.) scored her first collegiate goal, heading in a corner kick from junior Hannah Keochakian (Amherst, Mass.) to make it 3-2.
The Lyons fought to the final seconds of regulation time, but couldn't make up the difference. White and Keochakian both missed wide left with their shots after a corner kick in the 87th minute.
Govea made four saves for the Lyons, while Reagan Moffatt had seven saves for Salve Regina.
Mount Holyoke returns to action next Saturday at 1pm against Babson. Salve Regina will host Emerson on Wednesday at 4pm.
