Bristol, R.I. - September 4, 2021 - Senior forward Kass Lawrence (Holyoke, Mass.) picked up a pair of goals but the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team fell to host Roger Williams, 3-2, opening the 2021 season at Bayside Field.

With the loss, the Lyons begin the year 0-1 while the Hawks, which also played their first game of the 2021 season, improve to 1-0. Roger Williams held a 26-13 advantage in shots over 60 minutes of action, as the Hawks were also granted 12 penalty corners to Mount Holyoke's 10, seven of which were in the fourth and final quarter.

In net for the Lyons, first-year Rachel Katzenberg (Reistertown, Md.) made her first-career start and picked up 11 saves, while her counterpart, Callie Flanagan, earned the victory making three saves in 60 minutes.

Mount Holyoke College opened the game's scoring as junior Mollee Malboeuf (Fitchburg, Mass.) sent in a penalty corner that resulted in a bid from Margaret Robb (Summit, N.J.), which was stopped by Flanagan. Lawrence then picked up the rebound and found the back of the net to give the Lyons a 1-0 lead just 2:30 into the contest.

Over a minute later, Katzenberg faced her first test, making back-to-back stops against the Hawks attack to keep the hosts off the scoreboard. With less than two minutes to play in the opening quarter, Katzenberg was tested again as the first-year made a save off of a penalty corner and the Lyons' defense blocked consecutive bids to keep the Hawks at bay.

Just 2:30 before the halftime break, Roger Williams finally broke through on a goal from Maggie McCarthy, who converted from a distance to make it 1-1.

Only 5:49 into the second half a Mount Holyoke College foul resulted in a penalty shot for the Hawks but Katzenberg came up big with a save to keep the game level at one goal apiece. With 4:37 to play in the third quarter, Roger Williams took the lead as Morgan Foley deflected a shot by Amelia Monahan which snuck past Katzenberg to make it 2-1, Hawks, heading to the fourth.

With under 12 minutes to play, the Lyons went back to work with another penalty corner, which was sent in by Malboeuf and found the stick of Phoebe Aaronson (Mountain View, Calif.). The senior defender then sent a cross-crease pass to Lawrence, who converted once again to pull the Lyons even at two goals apiece.

Mount Holyoke College almost converted another penalty corner chance just 30 seconds later, but the bid from Aaronson went wide. With under five minutes on the clock, Roger Williams' Hannah Palmer blasted a shot from the right side, which was stopped by Katzenberg, but Palmer collected her own rebound and tucked a shot into the back of the net to give the hosts a 3-2 lead.

Rallying to the final whistle, the Lyons had one last penalty corner with 15 seconds remaining, but Flanagan sealed the victory with a stop on Aaronson.

 The Lyons will return to action on Thursday, September 7 when they travel to UMass Amherst's Gladchuk Sport Complex for a 7 p.m. contest versus Amherst.

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