SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- The Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team put on a solid performance but fell short of a strong Nichols College team Saturday afternoon in non-conference action, as the Lyons fell to the visiting Bison 15-9.
Making its 2025 debut, Nichols (1-0) finished 12-6 in 2024, including a 13-4 win over Mount Holyoke.
Mount Holyoke (1-1) received four goals from junior captain Emi Bisson (Chester, Conn.), who finished the game with 99 career goals in just 33 games. Bisson has 11 career games with four or more goals, including both contests this season.
Junior captain Elle Mader (Cincinnati, Ohio) and first-year Juliana Spaulding (Wakefield, Mass.) potted two goals apiece, with Spaulding adding six draw controls, four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
Junior Jane Harmon (Ashburnham, Mass.) caused four turnovers with two ground balls, and first-year Valeria Bolanos (Newington, Conn.) made 10 saves to pace the Lyons defense.
Emma Patton had four goals and an assist to lead Bison scorers, with Kristen Ruby (3 goals, 2 assists), Gabriella Mandirola (3, 1), Paige Alexander (2, 2), Makala Dube (2, 1) and Hadley Houghton (1, 1) all tallying multiple points.
Briar Slattery made 15 saves and began a handful of successful Nichols attacks with deft outlet passes, and Adison Whitty caused five Lyons turnovers.
Mount Holyoke led only once, when Bisson got the scoring started 2:34 into the game. Nichols took the lead for good at 3-2, but a 3-0 Mount Holyoke run midway through the game closed the deficit to two (8-6) early in the third quarter, after junior Mackenzie Hillman (Newington, Conn.) and Mader scored just 24 seconds apart. But Nichols finished out the third quarter with a 4-1 run that extended to 6-1 and a 14-7 lead with 13:33 left in regulation.
Mader scored her second goal on junior Marielle Welch's (Silver Spring, Md.) second assist with 9:06 to go to make it 14-8. But defenses ruled the rest of the way, with both teams scoring one goal apiece in the final nine minutes. Spaulding's second goal and sixth this season finished the scoring with 5:54 to go in the game.
The Lyons will return to their home turf on Wednesday, hosting Elms College at 6pm. Nichols plays at Mass Maritime Wednesday at 3pm.
