SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College field hockey team came back from a 2-0 deficit to tie Wellesley 2-2 in the second quarter, but the visiting Blue won the rivals' NEWMAC game 3-2 on Alex Lenart's score in the fourth quarter Saturday.
The score was knotted 2-2 from the 21st minute of the game until only 3:08 remained. Lenart took a forwarding pass down the left side of the field and maneuvered past a Lyons defender to set up a long, bounding shot from the top of the circle that found the inside of the near post, for her sixth goal of the season.
The shot came just two minutes after Lenart sent a would-be game-winning shot that glanced off of the left goalpost and out of bounds.
Wellesley (7-9, 3-4 NEWMAC) scored two quick goals in the opening six minutes of play to seize a 2-0 lead. On Wellesley's second penalty corner, Lenart inserted to Lindsay Strong, who stopped and popped the ball from the left side of the circle and in the goal.
The Blue made it 2-0 four minutes later as Camille Newman set up Cassidy Novello's fourth goal of the season.
Mount Holyoke began its comeback bid with 13:41 remaining in the second quarter as junior Cecilia Field (Burlington, Vt.) tipped in a ball sent by senior Phoebe Aaronson (Mountain View, Calif.) on a Lyons corner to tally her second goal this season.
Less than four minutes later, Mount Holyoke struck again with junior Caroline Thompson (Harwich, Mass.) feeding senior Kylie Brooks (Oceanside, Calif.) for her seventh goal of the season, tying senior teammate Mollee Malboeuf (Fitchburg, Mass.) for the team scoring lead. The goal was the 19th of Brooks' career.
Mount Holyoke sophomore Rachel Katzenberg (Reisterstown, Md.) made seven saves in goal, while Kyra Deehr-Lewis made one save for Wellesley. Defender Eleanor Wenners was credited with a defensive save for the Blue.
The Lyons celebrated Senior Day at the game, honoring four graduating members: Aaronson, Brooks, Malboeuf and Laurissa Montigny (Enfield, Conn.), all of whom are starters and key contributors to the team.
