SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Babson College Beavers overwhelmed Mount Holyoke College in the first quarter, building a 9-0 lead en route to a 22-3 NEWMAC women's lacrosse victory on Saturday at the MHC Turf.
Thirteen players scored for Babson (5-6, 3-1 NEWMAC), led by Erin Jayne's six points on four goals and two assists. Lilly Bedard scored three goals for the Beavers, and Emily Curtis and Nicole Darveau also tallied three points apiece. But Clare Connolly was arguably the key to Babson's success, dominating draw controls with 12, including four of the first five in the game. Connolly also scored a goal and added one assist, two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
Babson prevented Mount Holyoke from clearing the ball on all nine of its opportunities in the first half, as the Lyons turned the ball over 14 times. The Beavers also won six of the first eight draws in the game and forced Mount Holyoke turnovers shortly after the two draws the Lyons controlled in the early going. Babson's domination of possession led to a 10-0 lead and a running clock just over 16 minutes into the game. Jessica Evans scored first for the Beavers at the 12:12 mark of the first quarter, and she was the first Babson player to record a second goal, which gave the visitors a 6-0 lead with 5:39 to go in the first quarter.
Babson took a 14-0 lead into halftime and made it 15-0 before the Lyons scored their first goal, on a free-position shot by first-year defender Taylor Dunn (San Francisco, Calif.).
First-year midfielder Emi Bisson (Chester, Conn.) scored Mount Holyoke's second goal with 7:34 to go in the fourth quarter, after junior Isabel Cordes (Yorktown, Va.) forced a Babson turnover. The Lyons closed the gap by another goal at the 3:56 mark, as first-year Amelia Knaysi (Grand Junction, Colo.) fed sophomore Madison Millyan (Winchester, Mass.) for the finish to make it 20-3.
Kathleen Murphy made three saves in goal for Babson, which outshot Mount Holyoke 37-9, including a 29-6 difference in shots on goal.
Sophomore Emma Tower (Dover, N.H.) made seven saves for Mount Holyoke. Knaysi and Emi Bisson had five draw controls apiece, with Bisson adding four ground balls as well.
Both teams will host NEWMAC games on Wednesday: Mount Holyoke entertains Smith at 6pm while Babson will host Wheaton at 4pm.
