NORTON, Mass. (Apr. 7, 2012) – First year midfielder Kirsten Kilburn led the way for the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team in its 15-8 setback to NEWMAC foe Wheaton College this afternoon at Keefe Field. In addition to recording four points on three goals and an assist, the rookie also hauled in four draw controls. It was her sixth career hat trick.

Junior attacker Molly Macdonald collected two goals and an assist, while sophomore midfielder Brianne Phelan added a pair of tallies. The Lyons also received solid production from sophomore attacker Liz Randolph, who came up with five draw controls and two caused turnovers. Classmate Annabel Barrett chipped in with five ground balls.

Wheaton was paced by senior attacker Hailey Colburn, who racked up seven points on two goals and five assists. Fellow senior Sydney Ferguson found the back of the net four times. Meanwhile, junior midfielder Kristen Palmer finished with three goals and six draw controls for the hosts, who ran their winning streak to six.

After a Phelan goal knotted things up at 2-2 just over 11 minutes into the contest, Wheaton erupted for seven straight tallies and never looked back. The hosts closed out the first half with five unanswered goals and added two more in the early stages of the second stanza. Colburn and Ferguson sparked the rally with two goals apiece.

Wheaton (9-3, 2-1 NEWMAC) finished the game with advantages in shots (33-18), ground balls (26-23) and draw controls (16-9). First year goalkeeper Katy Ananian made six saves for the hosts, who led by as many as 10 goals on two occasions down the stretch.

Junior Liz Malenfant turned away eight shots for the Lyons.

Mount Holyoke (5-5, 1-2 NEWMAC) is slated to host longtime rival Smith College on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.