NORTON, Mass. -- Senior goalkeeper Rachel Katzenberg turned away 15 shots for the Mount Holyoke College field hockey team, but it wasn't enough for the visiting Lyons in a 2-0 loss at Wheaton College on Saturday.
Grace Ferguson stopped all four shots she faced to lead Wheaton, which improved to 8-8 overall and 2-6 in league play, while MHC fell to 7-10 and 0-8.
Wheaton scored single goals in the second and fourth quarters and owned a 25-13 shooting advantage, including 17-6 in shots on the cage. The teams combined for 27 penalty corners with Wheaton owning an 18-9 edge.
Riley Levrault and Ally Slicer each scored goals for Wheaton.
The Lyons got on the board with 4:43 left in the second quarter to take a 1-0 edge. Kelsey Thompson slipped a centering cross from the right side of the goal mouth to Levrault, who was credited with the goal after it was boxed around by an MHC defender.
Wheaton added an insurance goal late in the fourth quarter when it was awarded a penalty stroke with 3:41 remaining in the contest. Slicer converted the shot for a 2-0 lead.
MHC's best opportunities came on penalty corner situations. First-year forward MJ Owens (Fairfield, Conn.) had a pair of shots from five yards out from the front of the cage. Her first attempt came with 3:43 left in the second quarter when she fired a point-blank shot that Ferguson initially stopped, but the ball continued on behind her, but Abby Miller was there to clear the ball away. Ferguson came off her line less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, before Owens uncorked a shot that the Wheaton keeper was able to turn away. Ferguson came up big again just 37 seconds later during a Mount Holyoke corner when senior forward Jayonna Montigny (Enfield, Conn.) fired a shot from the left side, inside the arc that the Wheaton keeper stopped and was able to control, while falling backward.
MHC's defense on the penalty corner was outstanding, holding the home Lyons without a goal, despite 18 opportunities.
MHC was led by sophomore forward Diane Lee (Boston, Mass.) with four shots.
Mount Holyoke hosts Rivier University on Tuesday at 6pm in the Lyons' home finale.
