ENGLEWOOD, Fla. - An offensive flurry and solid defense over the final 2:50 of the contest propelled the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team to a 16-15 win over the University of New England in spring break action at Dever Park. With the victory, the Lyons grab their first win of the season and are now 1-4. The Nor'Easters move to 3-3 overall.
Locked in a 7-all tie after the opening 30 minutes of action, the Lyons grabbed the lead as junior Kaitlin Braz fired a shot past UNE keeper Maritza Nary less than a minute into the stanza. The Nor'Easters answered on an Anna Stowell tally, but MHC junior Leila Kouakou added her second of the game at 26:51 off a feed from senior captain Charlotte Wagner.
The two teams continued to trade goals until the 23:41 mark when Wagner broke open a 10-all game with back-to-back scores, followed by a goal from sophomore Mazzie Meotti to make it 13-10 with 19:31 to play.
Stowell countered, but goals from Wagner and Meotti pushed the score to 15-11 with 13:44 left on the scoreboard. Stowell grabbed another tally off a feed from Olivia Carpenter, but first year Mary LaVigne sent her fourth shot of the game into the back of the net to give the Lyons a four-goal lead (16-12) at 11:35.
The University of New England battled back though, scoring just seconds after the LaVigne goal as Jocelyn Davee got one past senior goalie Isa Rodriguez. Nichole Carvalo tipped a shot in at 7:23 and Stowell connected on a free position shot at 2:50 to make it a one-goal game.
Despite the momentum, the Lyons' defense held strong for the remainder of the frame to secure the first win of the season.
For Mount Holyoke, Wagner scored a game-best five goals on 12 shots and also added an assist with two draw controls. LaVigne posted four goals, including a 2-3 effort on the free position, with three ground balls and a caused turnover, while Kouakou and Braz each had a pair of goals. Defensively, the Lyons saw Braz post a game-best six ground balls, while senior captain and defender Taylor Hough added five ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior blueliner Alyssa Tabrisky also contributed with a team-high three ground balls.
The Nor'Easters saw Stowell notch four goals, adding two ground balls, a draw control and a caused turnover. Carvalho had three goals, while Korinne Bohunsky, Davee and Jolena Lampron each had two tallies.
In goal, the Lyons saw first year Mia Wysocki make six saves over the first 30 minutes of action. Rodriguez earned the victory with five saves. For UNE, Nary posted 11 saves.
Mount Holyoke will return to competition next Wednesday when it travels to Western New England University for a 4pm contest. UNE is also in action on Wednesday, in a 7pm game at Bridgewater State.
