CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (March 31, 2012) – The Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team picked up an impressive 17-11 triumph over NEWMAC foe MIT this afternoon at Jack Barry Field. After falling behind 10-6 with just under three minutes remaining in the first half, the Lyons exploded for 11 unanswered goals and never looked back.

Junior attacker Molly Macdonald found the back of the net three times during the rally and finished the game with a career-best five tallies. It was her sixth hat trick of the year and fourth in a row. She also recorded five goals in Mount Holyoke's 15-13 victory over Carthage College earlier this month.

Senior attacker Alex Crean and sophomore midfielder Brianne Phelan each posted hat tricks for the Lyons. Meanwhile, sophomore attacker Liz Randolph piled up two goals, one assist, four ground balls and three draw controls.

The guests also received a boost from first year midfielder Kirsten Kilburn, who scored twice and hauled in five draw controls. Sophomore defender Annabel Barrett added five ground balls.

More than half of MIT's offensive production came from senior midfielder Katie Kauffman, who erupted for six goals. Junior midfielder Molly McShane also enjoyed a productive day, scoring twice and picking up six ground balls.

After playing to a deadlock over the first 17 minutes, the Engineers netted four straight goals to build a 10-6 advantage with 2:48 remaining in the first half.

From there, it was all Mount Holyoke. The Lyons took momentum into the break thanks to strikes by sophomore Naomi Miller and Randolph in the finals minutes of the opening period. They then scored the first nine goals of the second half to build an insurmountable lead.

MIT's (1-9, 0-2 NEWMAC) lone goal of the second half came with just 49 seconds remaining in regulation.

Mount Holyoke finished with advantages in shots (33-22) and draw controls (19-11). Junior Jamie Theophilos got the start between the pipes for the Lyons. She made four saves over the first 17:13 before giving way to classmate Liz Malenfant, who turned away five shots down the stretch.

At the other end, sophomore Sarah Ritter came up with seven saves for the Engineers.

Mount Holyoke (5-3, 1-1 NEWMAC) will return to action on Tuesday, when it visits Skidmore College for a non-conference contest beginning at 6:00 p.m.