SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Junior midfielder Kristina Ramsden scored eight minutes into the second half and the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team held off a late rally to best Western New England University, 4-3, in non-conference action on Tuesday evening. With the win, the Lyons move to 10-4 overall and have now won each of their last five games. The Golden Bears slip to 6-8 on the season.
Owning a 3-1 lead at halftime, the homestanding Lyons put their fourth marker of the game on the board at 43:15. Sophomore Anna Ballou (South Deerfield, Mass./Deerfield Academy) earned the assist on the play after her shot on goal was rebounded back out to her. A quick one-touch back on goal saw Ramsden (Florence, Mass./Northampton) bury the ball past the reach of senior keeper Grace Trupe (Cardiff, Calif./San Diego Torrey Pines).
Western New England fired back ten minutes later, pulling to within two (4-2) as first year forward Haley Daigneault (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) slammed home a rebound in front. The Golden Bears answered again three minutes later off a penalty corner play. On the injection, the ball came out to the stick of senior forward Brittany DeLima (Branchville, N.J./High Point Regional), who shuffled a quick pass toward the middle at the high circle. Senior midfielder Allison Jackson (Mahopac, N.Y./Mahopac) was there and rifled a shot in past the reach of Lyons goalie Morgan Turner (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham) at 58:42.
Despite the momentum, the visitors were unable to grab the equalizer as Mount Holyoke held strong possession over the final five minutes of the half, including three straight penalty corners.
MHC opened the game's scoring at 9:10 of the first half as Ballou buried in a loose ball in traffic off the stick of a Western New England defender. The Lyons added to the advantage at the 27:09 mark as senior captain and forward Kaitlin Braz (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic) sent a clipped pass from the right of the goal to classmate and fellow captain Sophie Perekslis (Millerton, N.Y./Berkshire School) for the tally.
Western New England netted its first of the contest less than three minutes later as sophomore forward Madison Barron (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) sent a short pass to Jackson high in the circle. Her shot ripped through traffic and into the right corner to pull the visitors to within one. Ramsden then pushed the lead to 3-1 with a minute remaining in the stanza, burying home her own rebound which was kick-saved by Trupe.
Mount Holyoke owned a 25-6 advantage in shots for the game, while the squads tied with six penalty corners apiece. In goal, Turner earned her 10th win of the season, making one save, while Trupe shouldered the loss with a solid 14-save effort.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday when they travel to Smith for a critical NEWMAC match-up at 12pm. The Golden Bears are back on the field on Thursday hosting Westfield State at 4pm.
