WESTON, Mass. (Sept. 1, 2012) - Mount Holyoke College opened its season in exciting fashion on Saturday, claiming a 1-0 decision over Regis College in the season-opener for both teams. The Lyons start the year with a 1-0 record, while the Pride falls to 0-1 on the young season.

Mount Holyoke came out of the gate early and was looking to capitalize on a number of shot attempts, but the Pride would not budge. Regis received stingy defensive play from Haley Fountain (Warren, Mass.), Kym Kerr (Uxbridge, Mass.), Kara LaPiere (Wayland, Mass.), and Gen Gudiel (Lawrence, Mass.).

In the closing minutes of the half, Regis received perhaps the best scoring chance of the match when junior Stacy Burns (Waltham, Mass.) was awarded a penalty stroke.  Burns took a blistering shot to the upper right corner of the net, but goalkeeper Anne O'Byrne (Newbury, N.H.) was able to swat her attempt away, making one of her nine saves of the game. Both teams entered halftime scoreless.

Sophomore Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Mass.) had a strong performance for the visiting Lyons and pressured the Pride all game. Regis goalkeeper Raegan Heck (Phillipston, Mass.) was stellar in her freshman debut, turning away all nine of Kilburn's shots on goal.  Heck finished the day with 15 saves.

Despite some quality chances and close calls during the game, including a crossbar shot from Lyons forward Chrissy Boyles (Harvard, Mass.), neither team was able to find the back of the net in regulation time.

In overtime, Mount Holyoke forward Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass.) wasted little time and finally got on the board for the Lyons at the 11:15 mark. Pascual ran onto the ball and broke free for a one-on-one battle with Heck, slipping the ball just past her for the golden goal and win.

Regis will return to action Tuesday, Sept. 4 when the team travels to Framingham State for a 4:00 pm contest with the Rams. The Lyons host Nichols College on Thursday, Sept. 6 in their home opener at 7:00 pm.