SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team concluded the 2024 season Wednesday evening with a competitive game against one of the top teams in Division III in Springfield College, falling 21-2 to the visiting Pride.
Springfield (14-3, 9-1 NEWMAC) finishes the regular season in second place in the conference heading into this weekend's seven-team conference playoffs. Mount Holyoke ends up 0-10 in NEWMAC games and 1-16 overall.
Though the final score wasn't close, that might be considered deceiving. The Lyons attempted 18 shots in the game to Springfield's 39, won 10 of 26 draws, and committed only one more turnover than the Pride (18-17).
But Springfield took control of the game on the scoreboard with eight unanswered goals in the first quarter, in spite of a modest 12-7 advantage in shots. Arielle Johnson assisted on the Pride's first two goals, scored by Lauren Ronai and Sarah Newton, in the opening 2:18 of the game. Izzy Lalancette then scored three straight unassisted goals for a 5-0 lead with 4:33 to go in the period, making her the third Pride player with 40 or more goals on the season. Abby Taylor and Lilly Vey got into the act with back-to-back goals in the 13th minute, and Johnson finished off the period on an assist by Karen Joy with 29 seconds remaining.
Mount Holyoke sophomore Emi Bisson (Chester, Conn.) got the Lyons on the board 3:04 into the second quarter on a drive from the left goal-line extended, her 43rd goal of the season, to close Springfield's lead to 8-1.
After a scoreless stretch of nearly eight minutes, Springfield extended its lead with scores by Liz Neri and Samantha Andresen, Andresen's 43rd of the year. But Emi Bisson fed first-year Mackenzie Hillman (Newington, Conn.) for a lightning quick one-timer for Mount Holyoke's second goal, making it 10-2 with under a minute left in the half. Unfortunately for the Lyons, the Pride responded with two more scores before intermission, by Neri and Isabella Cardaropoli, for a 12-2 halftime lead.
Springfield limited Mount Holyoke to one shot in the third period while extending its lead to 16-2. The Pride outscored the Lyons 5-0 in the fourth quarter despite a 7-5 difference in shots.
Emi Bisson finished with one goal, one assist and a game-high four draw controls. Senior Isabel Cordes (Yorktown, Va.) and sophomore Jane Harmon (Ashburnham, Mass.) tallied two caused turnovers apiece, and sophomore Alex Twomey (Nutley, N.J.) had three ground balls.
First-year goalie Syd Baker (Needham, Mass.) made 10 saves for the Lyons. Haley Moody made seven saves in the first half for Springfield and Colleen Browne made four saves in the second half.
The game marked the final contest for Mount Holyoke seniors Hannah Bisson (South Hadley, Mass.), Lily Connelly (West Simsbury, Conn.), Cordes and Caroline Thompson (Harwich, Mass.).
