SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College field hockey team returned to the winning column Thursday night with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Regis College in a non-conference matchup played on the MHC Turf.
The Lyons rose to 5-10 heading into their Senior Day game Saturday against Clark, outshooting Regis 22-4 and winning an 11-1 advantage in penalty corners. The visiting Pride concluded their regular season with a 4-13 record.
First-year Zoey Candito (Belchertown, Mass.) and junior Emily Bisson (Manchester, N.H.) scored first-quarter goals for Mount Holyoke, which took a 2-0 lead into halftime.
Regis made it 2-1 halfway through the third quarter, as Kailey Araujo scored her second goal of the season on the Pride's first shot of the game. Araujo's shot was freed up after Mount Holyoke junior defender Linnea Alsted (Crownsville, Md.) slipped and fell while defending her.
Two minutes later, sophomore MJ Owens (Fairfield, Conn.) scored her first of a career-high three goals for a 3-1 lead. Candito's shot on a penalty corner was tipped in the air first by junior Diane Lee (Boston, Mass.), and then by Owens for her team-high seventh goal.
Owens and the Lyons weren't done, as less than two minutes later she tipped in an entry ball by junior Scout Climie (Guilford, Conn.) from a step inside the circle, finding the back of the cage again to make it 4-1 with 3:15 to go in the third quarter.
Owens finished off the hat trick with 8:00 remaining in the game, taking a pass from junior Mackenzie Hillman (Newington, Conn.) and carrying past two defenders, then shooting between two defenders and scoring on a backhand shot, for her ninth goal of the season.
Candito scored her second goal of the season in the ninth minute to put the Lyons on the board. Candito knocked in a loose ball in the air with a backhand shot, after Regis goalie Allayna Martone deflected a cross by Owens.
Bisson scored her first goal of the season with 2:00 left in the first quarter on a Mount Holyoke penalty corner, tipping in a shot by Alsted from the left wing.
Martone made 10 saves in goal for the Pride, and senior Ainsley Gruener (Topsfield, Mass.) made one save for the Lyons.
Mount Holyoke is now 8-0 all-time against Regis.
