WORCESTER, Mass. – Mel Melkonian (Worcester, Mass.) scored her nation-leading 26th goal of the season with just 39 seconds remaining to lift host Clark University to a thrilling 3-2 win over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey action on Tuesday night.

After a penalty corner for the Lyons was thwarted by the Cougar defense, Madeleine Lutts (Salem, Mass.) broke free from the defense and raced down the field before feeding Melkonian for the game-winner.

The win bumps Clark's record to 9-5, while Mount Holyoke dips to 6-7 overall. Both teams are 2-4 in league play and in search of one of the final spots left for the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament.

Clark took an early 1-0 lead when Kelly Hart (Oak Park, Ill.) found herself alone on a breakaway and maneuvered around Mount Holyoke goalkeeper Anne O'Byrne (Newbury, N.H.) for her sixth goal of the season at 21:31.

The game stayed that way until Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn.) banged home an unassisted tally for the Lyons exactly one minute into the second half, knotting the score at 1-1.

Kiah Murphy (Westport, Mass.) setup Christabelle Kozlik (Emigrant, Mont.) with her third goal of the season at 44:39, giving the Cougars the lead again.

Undaunted, Mount Holyoke went on the attack and Kilburn fed Christine Ianni (Wilmington, Del.) for the equalizer at 59:03.

Things seemed to be headed to overtime, but Lutts and Melkonian hooked up for the decisive tally at 69:21.

The boxscore was pretty even across the board as each team had ten shots and Mount Holyoke held a slight advantage in penalty corners (14-10).

Jordannah Saunders (Scarborough, Maine) made three saves in picking up the win, while O'Byrne made two stops for the visitors.

Both teams will return to action on Saturday. The Lyons host Springfield while Clark entertains Smith.

Story courtesy of Kevin Anderson, Clark Sports Information Director. Photo courtesy of Doug Keller.