Lyons hand Seahawks first loss

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - Rookies Caroline Flynn and Abby Baldwin combined for 15 points to lead the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team to a 19-7 win over Salve Regina University in non-conference action on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Lyons move to 4-2, while the Seahawks are now 2-1 on the young season.

Flynn (Williamstown, Mass./Mount Greylock Regional) paced all players with nine points on four goals and five assists. She also had four ground balls, a draw control and two caused turnovers. Baldwin (Florence, Mass./Northampton) had two tallies with four assists for six points, adding a game-best seven ground balls with six draw controls and two caused turnovers. Junior captain Julianna Rankin (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) chipped in with two goals and an assist to go along with a game-high seven draw controls, while senior attackDeyscha Smith (Boston, Mass./Academy of the Pacific Rim) had three goals with a helper. Rookie Allie Brown (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) also notched a hat trick with three goals.

For the visiting Seahawks, sophomore attack Kaity Doherty (Portsmouth, R.I./Portsmouth Abbey) had a game-high four goals. First year midfielder Nicole Smith (North Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) added two goals, five ground balls, four draw controls and two caused turnovers, while junior captain Kiley Anderson (East Greewich, R.I./East Greenwich) had a goal.

The Lyons got off to a fast start, jumping out to a 6-1 lead through the first 10 minutes of the contest. Smith led the charge for MHC with a pair of goals, while Flynn grabbed her first of the game at the 19:29 mark to make it a five-goal advantage (6-1). Salve Regina edged back in as Smith recorded her second free position tally of the frame, but back-to-back goals from Brown saw the home team go up by an 8-2 margin. The Seahawks found momentum in the final 4:31 with goals from Doherty and Anderson just over a minute apart, but the Lyons still took an 8-4 advantage into halftime.

Out of the break, the Lyons continued to dominate as scores from Rankin - off a fantastic feed from Baldwin - and Smith made it a 10-4 game at 27:28. Doherty notched her second of the contest to pull the visitors back to within five (10-5), but a four-goal run, including two goals and an assist by Flynn, pushed the lead to 14-5 with 19:41 on the clock. Following another Doherty tally, sophomore attack Julia Klein (West Hartford, Conn./Northwest Catholic) scored her first of the season, but Doherty answered a few minutes later with her fourth of the contest to make it 15-7.

Despite the mometum for the Seahawks, Doherty's goal would be their last of the contest as MHC posted a 4-0 run with goals from Rankin, Brown, sophomore attack Meryl Phair(Stockbridge, Mass./Monument Mountain Regional) and Flynn (also added two assists in the stretch) to close out the game.

In goal, Lyons junior Mia Wysocki (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) moved to 3-2 on the season as she earned the win with six saves in the first half. Sophomore Sophia Brooks-Randall(Providence, R.I./St. Mary Academy - Bay View) came on in relief in the second half and recorded three stops. For Salve Regina, sophomore Christina Myers (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) shouldered the loss in 39:33 with six stops. Junior Zoe Fava (Mahwah, N.J./Saddle River Day) came on for the final 20:27 of relief and made two saves.

Mount Holyoke returns to the field on Saturday when it opens conference play on the road at Wheaton. Tip-off in the Battle of the Lyons begins at 1pm in Norton, Mass. Salve Regina also opens conference action on Saturday, traveling to Gordon for a 12pm contest.