South Hadley, Mass. – April 14, 2009 – The Springfield College women’s lacrosse team jumped out a 4-0 lead and never looked back as it downed Mount Holyoke, 17-8, in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game on Tuesday evening.
It was the PrideÂ's 12th straight win over the Lyons, a streak dating back to the 2001 season.
Nine players scored goals for Springfield, which outshot the hosts 32-17. Senior attacker Heather Dobson erupted for six points on three goals and three assists, while sophomore midfielder Nicole Soucie recorded a hat trick. The Pride also received solid production from junior attacker Jenn Zubkus, who dished out three assists.
Senior midfielder Ava Gottschall figured in on five of Mount HolyokeÂ's eight goals, scoring three and assisting on two others. Meanwhile, first year midfielder Hilary Bombard totaled three points on two goals and a helper, and classmate Alex Crean found the net twice. The Lyons finished with a 15-12 edge in draw controls. Gottschall accounted for six.
After falling behind 4-0 in the early going, Mount Holyoke exploded for a pair of goals to slice the deficit to 4-2. Gottschall started the rally at the 17:25 mark and Bombard closed things out 20 seconds later. Springfield responded with three straight tallies and led 8-3 at the break. The guests pushed their cushion to 13-5 with 13:34 remaining in regulation and led by as many as ten goals in the waning minutes.
Junior goalkeeper Lauren McAulay got the start between the pipes for the Pride. She made one save in the first half before giving way to first year Katlyn Lavin, who turned away six shots in the second stanza. Sophomore Missy Hartley went the distance in net for the Lyons. She totaled eight stops.
Both squads will resume their NEWMAC schedules on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Mount Holyoke (3-9, 0-4 NEWMAC) will host the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while Springfield (8-4, 3-1 NEWMAC) will travel to Wellesley College.
