SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – The Mount Holyoke College soccer team held off a late rally by Lyndon State College to win 4-2 and secure its first victory of the season on Thursday evening. With the win, which saw senior forward Kara Singleton score two goals, the Lyons improve to 1-1 overall. The Hornets slip to 1-2 on the young season.
Locked in a 1-1 tie after the first half of action, Singleton (Parsonsfield, Maine/Sacopee Valley) pushed the Lyons ahead with a nice shot down the middle. First year midfielder Liz Rose (South Hamilton, Mass./Hamilton-Wenham Regional) earned the assist on the play after she sent the ball in to Singleton from the right side, who fired it in past keeper Johanna Sargent (Randolph, Vt./Randolph Union) in the 63rd minute.
Lyndon looked to have a nice shot to tie it up minutes later, but were called for an offside. Mount Holyoke took advantage as Rose netted her first career goal (after earning her first collegiate assist) in the 83rd minute, sending the ball in from 20-yards out on the left side. Sargent appeared to make the stop, but the ball trickled in past just across the goal line for the score and a 3-1 MHC lead.
The Hornets continued to fight and gained momentum less than three minutes later as senior defender Katy Ebner (East Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) chased a loose ball down the right side past a Lyons defender. Ebner sent a cross in, but the ball curved in on goal and went in at the upper left corner to cut the lead to 3-2.
Senior forward Cassidy Robinson (Lebanon, N.H./Lebanon) gave Mount Holyoke the insurance it needed to secure the win as she fired the ball in to the right side off a pass from senior captain Hannah Yee (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional).
Mount Holyoke opened the game's scoring in the fourth minute as Singleton connected on a nice ball. Off a goal kick, senior midfielder Tori Shaffrey (Charlottesville, Va./Charlottesville) knocked it down and spun toward the middle, sending a long shot up the field. Staying onside, Singleton got a beat on the ball and outran the defender to place a high shot over the netminder's head and in.
Lyndon had a solid chance to pull even near the 11th minute, but finally broke through in the 24th minute as Ebner placed a perfect corner into the middle. Senior forward Sarah Cornell (Lyndonville, Vt./Lyndon Institute) connected with a header into the bottom right corner to make it 1-all and the score remained till halftime.
The Lyons held a 23-8 advantage in shots and owned a 4-2 edge in corner kicks. In goal, MHC's Zoe Marshall (Mississauga, Ont./Cawthra Park Secondary School) stopped one shot for the victory. Lyndon State starter Julianna Anderson (Manchester, N.H./Manchester) made one save before being involved in a tough collision near the box. Sargent came on for the 82:43 of relief and made nine stops.
Mount Holyoke is back in action on Saturday when it hosts Husson at 1pm. Lyndon State returns to the field on Sunday when it travels to Rivier for a 12pm game.
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Photo courtesy of RJB Sports Photography.
