SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Powered by a 10-goal opening half, the Skidmore College women's lacrosse team defeated visiting Mount Holyoke College, 18-9 on Saturday in non-conference action at Wachenheim Field. With the win, the Thoroughbreds move to 3-4 overall, while the Lyons slip to 1-4.
The visitors opened the game's scoring at the 27:41 mark as senior captain and attacker Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass./Wilbraham & Monson) converted on the free position attempt for a 1-0 lead. But the advantage was short-lived as the homestanding Thoroughbreds rattled off ten straight goals for a 10-1 lead.
Junior midfielder Tyler Phillips (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) got things going less than 20 seconds after the MHC goal, winning the draw control and running down the middle for the high goal over the reach of Lyons' goalie Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School).
Skidmore increased its advantage minutes later after first year middie Natalie LaBeau (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) scored off a feed from senior Emma Harris (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes). The Thoroughbreds continued to capitalize off of MHC turnovers, converting once again at the 21:19 mark as Harris scored off a feed from the top by Phillips.
Phillips added another tally at 18:30, followed by a goal from junior midfielder Allison Byrne (West Hartford, Conn./The Loomis Chaffee School) less than a minute later for a 5-1 advantage. The duo would continue to add to the Skidmore lead with Phillips converting again on her own draw control win, before Bryne put in a low shot at Rodriguez's feet for the 7-1 lead at 16:47.
First year Gianna Muscari (Millbrook, N.Y./Millbrook School) added another score a minute later, while a straight down the middle shot from sophomore defender Emily Schlicht (Bayville, N.Y.C/Locust Valley) made it a 9-1 game with 15:01 remaining.
The Thoroughbreds added another goal before the Lyons battled back. From five yards out, Bell ran down the middle, catching a pass on the fly from senior captain and fellow attacker Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) to cut the lead to 10-2 at 8:20.
Skidmore rookie attack Cas Szwajkowski (Rye, N.Y./Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) pushed the lead back to 11 on a nice individual effort, but Mount Holyoke responded once again with another goal from Bell, who caught a quick pass at the right side from Ryan as the two teams headed into halftime with the Thoroughbreds up 11-3.
The second half of action began with a flurry of goals as Harris scored back-to-back tallies in the opening 4:10 of the frame for a 13-3 advantage. Sophomore attackers Marissa Caponi (Wayne, N.J./Indian Hills) and Emily O'Connor (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) then each added scores of their own to make it a 12-goal (15-3) game with 19:51 remaining.
Mount Holyoke charged back at the 18:17 mark as first year midfielder Haley Subocz (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) converted a shot down the middle, followed by a score from junior attack Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) less than five minutes later to close the gap to 15-5.
Lyons' sophomore midfielder Kaitlin Braz (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic) continued the momentum for the visitors as she banked in a low shot in front, while Subocz scored less than a minute later off a feed from Ryan to make it a 15-7 contest with 12:16 to go.
It became a back and forth battle soon after as Skidmore's Anna Boogaerts (Providence, R.I./Wheeler School) netted her second of the game, followed a few minutes later by the fourth goal of the game from MHC's Bell at 8:58.
The Thoroughbreds added two more goals to build up an 18-8 margin, holding on in the final minutes despite Bell's game-leading fifth goal of the day with 52 seconds left, for the victory.
Skidmore, which held a 46-19 advantage in shots, a 20-9 edge in draw controls and a 30-15 margin in ground balls for the game, were paced by three-goal efforts from Harris, Phillips and Szwajkowski. Phillips also added a game-high three assists. Thoroughbreds junior goalie Megan Kolopsky (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan) played most of the contest, surrendering three goals while stopping three shots. Sophomore Taylor Goodwill (Verbank, N.Y./Millbrook) came on for the final 20:20 of the game, stopping five shots while allowing six goals.
For Mount Holyoke, Bell paced the effort with a game-high five goals. Subocz added two tallies, while Ryan posted a game-best three assists. In goal, Rodriguez recorded 16 saves.
Skidmore opens Liberty League play next Friday, hosting William Smith at 4pm at Wachenheim Field, while Mount Holyoke opens its NEWMAC schedule on Wednesday, welcoming Emerson for a 6:30pm contest at the MHC Turf Field.
