Lacrosse Doubles Up Westfield State, 16-8
WESTFIELD, Mass. (March 12, 2009) – Led by junior midfielder Peggy Wefald, the Mount Holyoke College women’s lacrosse team raced to a convincing 16-8 triumph over non-conference foe Westfield State College this afternoon at Alumni Field. With their second straight win, the Lyons bumped their record to 2-1. The Owls fell to 1-1. It was the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Mount Holyoke finished with large advantages in both shots (39-10) and draw controls (19-7). Wefald exploded for seven goals for the fourth time in her career and also amassed a game best seven draw controls. The Lyons also received a boost from sophomore attacker Clara Raugei, who posted her second straight hat trick. First year midfielder Hilary Bombard found the net twice, while classmate Maria Youngman and senior Ava Gottschall added one goal and two assists apiece.
Leading the way for Westfield State was sophomore Rachel Dionne. The midfielder figured in on five of the Owls eight goals, scoring three and assisting on two more. Fellow sophomore Laura Chiricosta chipped in with a pair of tallies for the hosts.
Trailing 3-0 in the early going, Mount Holyoke erupted for seven straight goals to open up a 7-3 edge at the 7:30 mark. Wefald accounted for four tallies during the spurt, which spanned eight minutes. Westfield State closed out the opening frame with two straight goals, including a free position tally in the waning seconds by Dionne that sliced the deficit to 7-5.
In the second half, Mount Holyoke outscored the Owls 9-3 to create separation. The Lyons pulled away with a 7-0 run in which Wefald found the net three times. Her seventh tally of the day put the visitors in front 15-6 with just under 12 minutes remaining in regulation. Mount Holyoke outshot Westfield State 22-3 in the second stanza.
Sophomore goalkeeper Missy Hartley was credited with her second career win for the Lyons. Meanwhile, first year Kaity Burns took the loss despite making seven saves.
Mount Holyoke (2-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will spend its spring break in West Palm Beach, Florida next week. The Lyons are slated to face off against St. Lawrence University on Monday and Allegheny College on Wednesday. Both contests are scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Mount Holyoke’s first home game will be on Thursday, March 26 versus Bridgewater State College at 4:30 p.m.