Second-place Pioneers top soccer in home finale

Taryn White took a team-high four shots in Mount Holyoke's 2-0 loss to Smith on Oct. 30, 2024. (RJB Sports file photo)
Taryn White took a team-high four shots in Mount Holyoke's 2-0 loss to Smith on Oct. 30, 2024. (RJB Sports file photo)

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Raven Tebbetts scored on a corner kick in the first half and Kyla Warner added a goal in the second half as Smith College won 2-0 at Mount Holyoke College in NEWMAC action on Wednesday night.

The visiting Pioneers (7-8-2, 6-2-2 NEWMAC) rose to second place in the NEWMAC and are 5-1-1 in their past seven contests.

With one game remaining in the regular season, Mount Holyoke (4-5-6, 1-5-4 NEWMAC) is tied for ninth place in the conference with Salve Regina. The Lyons will need a win at WPI on Saturday, a Wheaton win over Coast Guard, and a Salve Regina loss or tie against Wellesley in order to make the eight-team NEWMAC playoffs.

Smith outshot Mount Holyoke by a 25-10 margin, including an 18-4 difference in the first half, and the Pioneers had nine corner kicks to the Lyons' one.

Tebbetts put Smith on the scoreboard in the 22nd minute as she bent a corner kick around the near post and into the goal for her second goal. Tebbetts put two additional corner kicks on goal in the course of the game, both saved by Mount Holyoke sophomore Evie Krieg (Frisco, Texas).

Smith doubled its lead in the 54th minute, as Kyla Warner took a pass from Una Keller in open space on the left side of the Lyons penalty area, then made one move to free up a sharp shot that hit the net between the near post and a diving Krieg.

Krieg, the NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week this week, made seven saves in the loss. Skylar Smith made three saves in the shutout for Smith.

All three of Mount Holyoke's shots on goal occurred over a five-minute span in the second half, with one apiece by junior Taryn White (Alexandria, Va.), senior Sonia McCollum (Oakland, Calif.), and junior Anna Kennedy (Glendale, Wis.), who challenged Smith with a rocket from just outside the penalty area with 21:35 remaining.

Soccer falls at Babson
October 12, 2024 Soccer falls at Babson