Bridgewater, Mass. - February 29, 2020 - Despite four points from sophomore attacker Caroline Flynn (Williamstown, Mass.), the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team dropped its first decision of the 2020 season, losing 17-6 to Bridgewater State in non-conference play at Swenson Field on Saturday.
With the loss, the Lyons, which were off to their best start since the 2013 season, drops to 2-1 on the year, while Bridgewater State improves to 1-1 overall. The Bears held a significant advantage on the draws, controlling 18 to the Lyons' seven, while the hosts also held a 28-24 margin in ground balls. Bridgewater State finished the game with 33 shots to Mount Holyoke College's 17.
Along with four points on three goals and an assist from Flynn, classmate Allie Brown (Burlington, Vt.) found the back of the net twice, while Julianna Rankin (Annapolis, Md.) added one of her own. Sophomore Abby Baldwin (Florence, Mass.) was effective in the defensive end, as she collected a team-best five caused turnovers to go along with three draw controls and four ground balls.
In net, Mia Wysocki (Longmeadow, Mass.) played the first half and made eight saves before being relieved by Erin Foley (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), who posted three stops in the second half.
Mount Holyoke College struck first when Flynn scored on an unassisted strike just 3:41 into the contest, before the Bears answered with back-to-back goals just 41 seconds apart to give the hosts a 2-1 lead with 24:28 on the clock.
After Flynn knotted the score at two apiece with her second of the contest, Bridgewater State went on a five-goal run over 8:38 to take a 7-2 advantage over the Lyons. Flynn ended the run with her third of the contest at the 12:19 mark of the stanza, but the Bears would then rattle off seven-straight goals to end the half, taking a 14-3 lead into the break.
Rankin opened the second half with an unassisted goal to pull the Lyons back to within 10, before Bridgewater State answered again with consecutive goals to gain a 16-4 advantage with 19:03 to play.
From there, Meryl Phair (Stockbridge, Mass.) set up Brown for her first tally of the game with 17:08 remaining, before the Lyons pulled back to within 10 on Flynn's fourth of the contest at 14:51, making it 16-6. The two sides would play back-and-forth until the Bears found the back of the net with 3:47 to go, sealing the 17-6 win.
Up next, Mount Holyoke College will return to the MHC Turf and Track Complex on Wednesday, March 4 for a 5 p.m. clash with local-foe Westfield State University.
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