Led by 12th-year head coach Miriam Esber, the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team played a tough schedule in 2019 and powered their way to a 7-9 overall mark. The Lyons went 2-6 in NEWMAC play, paced by some of the highest rookie scoring seen since the 2014 season.
The Lyons kicked-off 2019 with a dominant 18-3 road victory at Gordon College. Rookie attack Abby Baldwin paced the effort with a game-best six goals on the afternoon, along with a team-best four ground balls on her way to earning NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Week recognition. Mount Holyoke then suffered a pair of defeats to Bridgewater State and Westfield State, but rebounded in Florida action for wins over Western Connecticut State and Morrisville State. Baldwin had eight goals on the week, including a six-goal (with the game-winner in overtime) performance against Western Conn., in the Florida opener.
MHC returned home and dominated Salve Regina for a 19-7 win, paced by four goals and five assists from rookie Caroline Flynn. Following a tough loss at Wheaton, the Lyons bounced back with a 20-4 win against Eastern Connecticut State as Baldwin had five goals, while senior attack Deyscha Smith poured in three goals and five assists on the day.
The Lyons closed out March and opened April with losses to MIT and Western New England, but battled back for victories over Emerson and Wellesley. In the win over the Lions, Baldwin notched five goals, while adding six tallies against the Blue.
The Lyons ended the season on a tough run, shouldering losses in their final four games, but had several noteworthy accomplishments. Junior goalie Mia Wysocki notched her 300th career save against Coast Guard, while Baldwin became the first player since the 2014 season to record at least 60 goals for 70 points.
Baldwin led the team overall with 73 total points on 62 goals with 11 assists. She also led the squad in draw controls with 76 and ground balls with 45. Flynn ranked second on the team in scoring, notching 35 goals with 14 assists for 49 points, while Smith recorded the best season of her career with 28 goals and a team-best 17 assists for 45 points. Defensively, sophomore Chelsea Braz paced the Lyons with 24 caused turnovers.
In goal, Wysocki led the team with 126 saves in 775:22 minutes of action. She had a 12.46 goals against average with a .439 save percentage while going 6-9 overall. Sophomore Sophia Brooks-Randall appeared in seven games, recording a 1-0 mark over 170:56 minutes. She had a 7.02 GAA and a .355 save percentage with 11 stops.
At season's end, Baldwin was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team. Six players garnered Academic All-Conference recognition, while senior captain Haley Subocz was named to the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team.
