SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - An early goal by Alex Kenoian (Oak Park, Ill. / Oak Park & River Forest) was all Mount Holyoke College needed as they defeated the Wellesley College Blue 1-0 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference soccer action at the Mount Holyoke Field, Saturday. With the win, Mount Holyoke improves to 1-1 in conference play (3-4 overall), while the Blue is now 0-2 in the league, but also 3-4 overall.
The senior midfielder found the net just nine minutes into the game. After Hannah Finn-Erb (Northampton, Mass. / Northampton) had been released on an excellent through ball from midfield, she chipped the ball over the trailing Kenoian, who fired a strike from the top of the box that buried the ball in the top left corner.
Finn-Erb came close to doubling the Lyons' lead five minutes later, but her attempt was stopped by the Blues' Olivia Reckley, who took the loss. The Lyons outshot Wellesley 6-3 in the first half, with Reckley making five saves.
The Blue poured on the pressure in the second half as they sought a share of the spoils. Wellesley fired 11 shots (six on target) at the Lyons' Amanda Manaster (Beverly Hills, Calif. / Beverly Hills), who turned them all away and improved to 3-4 on the year. The 6-0 senior made eight saves in total to pick up her second clean sheet of the year.
Mount Holyoke is back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 25, as they host Bay Path University in a non-conference matchup. That game is set to get underway at 6 p.m. Wellesley is also back in action on Tuesday, as they host Brandeis at 4 p.m. in a non-conference contest.
