WESTFIELD, Mass. - Senior captain Charlotte Wagner and junior Kaitlin Braz each recorded a game-best three goals, but Westfield State broke a 7-all tie at 4:30 to grab an 8-7 victory over Mount Holyoke in non-conference action on Wednesday evening. The victory moves the Owls to 2-0 on the young season, while the Lyons slip to 0-3 overall.
The homestanding Owls opened up a 1-0 lead just three minutes into the contest as Hunter Zacharicz fired in a pass from Brooke Williams, but the Lyons grabbed the lead as Braz and Wagner each scored with 21:01 to play in the contest.
Williams tied the game for Westfield State at the 20:09 mark and two more tallies gave the home team a 4-2 advantage heading into halftime.
Coming out of the break, Westfield State made it a three-goal margin (5-2) off a marker from Rachel Testa, but the visiting Lyons quickly bounced back, tying the contest at 5-all with three goals over a three-minute span.
Wagner got things going at 21:17, scoring the first of two straight goals to pull the deficit to one (5-4). Junior Leila Kouakou then hammered home the equalizer with 19:38 to go. Despite the momentum, Westfield State was able to rebound as Zacharicz buried in the go-ahead and the 6-5 advantage.
A back-and-forth battle ensued as Braz fired in a shot at 12:35, followed 70 seconds later by an Owls tally from Syd Lambert. Trailing 7-6, Braz netted her third of the contest with 5:28 left on the clock, but the second goal of the game from Stephanie Godek gave the Owls the lead for good. The MHC defense was solid over the final 4:30 of the contest, but the Lyons just couldn't generate the equalizer during that stretch.
In goal, Westfield State saw Maria Woodall make five saves over the first 30 minutes. Alanah Melanson came on in relief and posted six saves to earn the decision. The Owls also owned a 24-21 advantage in shots for the contest, posted a 19-14 edge in ground balls, and went 14-17 on the clear.
For Mount Holyoke, senior Isa Rodriguez posted seven saves in the opening half, before giving way to rookie Mia Wysocki, who had six saves. Mount Holyoke held a 10-7 edge in draw controls and went 13-17 on the clear.
Westfield State returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Lasell for a 12pm game. Mount Holyoke is in action on Monday when it faces Western Connecticut State at 7:30pm. That game will be played at Dever Park in Englewood, Fla.
