SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Powered by a three-goal flurry mid-way through the second half, the Smith College lacrosse team held off a late charge by Mount Holyoke College enroute to an 11-10 win on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Pioneers move to 10-7 overall and 2-6 in New England Women and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action, while the Lyons move to 3-13 and 1-7 in conference play.

The game, which was the final match of the season for both teams, saw the homestanding Lyons hold a 6-4 lead at halftime. Junior midfielder Caroline Myran (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Friends School), who had scored the visitors final goal of the opening period, added her second of the game less than a minute into the second stanza to cut the deficit to 6-5.

First year midfielder Bella Ferraro (Orange, Conn./Amity) tied it at 6-all with 27:12 play, converting on the free position attempt, but the Lyons earned the go-ahead goal two minutes later as junior middie Leila Kouakou (Leeds, Mass./Northampton) fired a shot past keeper Sarah Price (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson).

Smith found its momentum soon after as Myran converted on the free position to once again tie the match (7-7), while at 17:45, first year midfielder Sydney Garner (Beaverton, Ore./Oregon Episcopal School) gave the Pioneers their first lead of the match off a pass from junior attack Julia Hamilton (Williamstown, Mass./Deerfield Academy). 

Hamilton then capitalized on the free position, making it a 9-7 advantage for the visitors with 15:25 to play. Mount Holyoke battled back as senior captain and attack Charlotte Wagner (West Chester, Pa./Westtown School) scored off a perfectly timed pass from junior midfielder Kaitlin Braz (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic), but the duo of Garner and Hamilton once again converted with 8:13 to go to put Smith up 10-8.

Kouakou went on to score on the free position for her third of the game, but Pioneers' sophomore Chloe Harris (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) netted her game-leading fourth of the contest with 1:57 to go, regaining the two-goal lead. Mount Holyoke pulled to within one as Braz capitalized on the free position at 1:30, but took advantage of multiple Lyons' fouls to hold position as time expired.

Harris led the way in the contest with four goals, adding three ground balls and a caused turnover. Myran had three tallies, four ground balls, three draw controls and three caused turnovers, while Hamilton had a goal and a game-best two assists. Sophomore midfielder Emily Biggs (Florence, Mass./Northampton) boasted a game-high five caused turnovers and eight ground balls, while in goal, Price made five saves in the victory.

For Mount Holyoke, Braz and Kouakou each had three goals and an assist. Braz also posted seven ground balls and a caused turnover, while Kouakou had a game-high seven draw controls. First year Julianna Rankin (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) had two tallies, while also posting five ground balls and three caused turnovers. In goal, senior Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School) played the first 30 minutes and made two saves. First year Mia Wysocki (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) shouldered the loss with three saves in the second half.

Mount Holyoke held a 24-20 advantage in shots for the contest, also owning a 36-29 edge in ground balls. Both teams split in the draw controls with an 11-11 margin. The Lyons were also 10-17 in clear attempts and both squads were 5-of-10 on the free position.