SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Behind the efforts of six different scorers, the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team powered past Smith College by a 7-1 margin in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Tuesday evening. With the win, the #19 Lyons move to 8-2 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. The Pioneers are now 1-9 and 0-4 in the NEWMAC.
Junior Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham Monson) got things going just 5:01 into the game, corralling a poke pass from senior captain Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) and firing it in on the right side.
Smith rallied and pulled the score even just three minutes later as junior Marissa Vara (Hudson, Mass./Hudson) fired a shot in on goal that MHC keeper Liz DiCesare (Westford, Mass./Bishop Guertin) came out to make a kick save on. The ball deflected out just to the right onto the stick of first year Julia Hamilton (Williamstown, Mass./Deerfield Academy), who banged it into the open goal.
Mount Holyoke counted nearly 10 minutes later as senior captain Christine Ianni (Greenville, Del./Tower Hill) deflected in a rocketed shot by Kilburn from the top of the arch. Leading 2-1, Kilburn pushed the advantage to 3-1 before the half as she found a backhanded shot from junior Sarah LaQuerre (Old Orchard Beach, Maine/Cheverus) and slipped it in through traffic.
In the second half of action, the Lyons continued to gain momentum, scoring in the 38th minute off a score by sophomore Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School). LaQuerre earned the assist after her bullet shot from the top of the circle was hammered in on the left side.
The pair reversed the scoring order on MHC's fifth goal of the contest, which came in the 52nd minute. Wagner sent a solid pass to the left and LaQuerre was there to arch it in for the goal.
Mount Holyoke found the back of the net twice more in the final eight minutes of the contest, both coming off the stick of first year Sophie Perekslis (Sheffield, Mass./Berkshire School), who now has a team-high 10 goals on the season.
The Lyons, who held a dominant 24-8 advantage in shots and a 20-3 clip in penalty corners, saw DiCesare finish with two saves over 64:19 of action. Sophomore Ally Tessier (Coventry, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey School) played the final 5:41, but was not forced to make a save.
For the Pioneers, first year Cameo Tietje (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) posted nine saves.
Mount Holyoke is back in action on Saturday, hosting Springfield in a 2pm NEWMAC tilt. Smith returns to action on Thursday, travelling to Western New England for a 7pm match.
Follow Lyons Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
