SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Mount Holyoke seniors Jayonna Montigny and Sophia Guziewicz connected on the game's only goal in their final home game, as the Lyons defeated Rivier University 1-0 Tuesday night to give head coach Andy Whitcomb her 300th career victory.
Mount Holyoke (8-10) thwarted some late scoring chances by Rivier (7-11) to win the first-ever meeting between the teams.
Whitcomb is now 281-215-1 in 27 seasons at Mount Holyoke. She went 19-17 in two seasons at Montclair State in her first head coaching position.
Guziewicz (Claremont, N.H.) continued her scoring tear to give Mount Holyoke all the scoring it needed, extending the Lyons' best individual scoring season since 2013.
Posting up in front of the Raiders goal, Guziewicz fought off two defenders to take a cross from Montigny (Enfield, Conn.) and drive the ball inside the right post. The midfielder -- who began the season with six career goals -- has now scored six goals over her final six games and is up to 19 career goals.
Rivier goalkeeper Kylie Coupal kept the game close with several key saves, and finished with 10 saves on the night.
Coupal stopped Montigny in the final second of the first half, extinguishing a late counter-attack with sophomore Diane Lee (Boston, Mass.) driving in from midfield and passing off to Montigny on the break. A constant driving threat, Montigny was stopped on saw three of her five shots in the game saved by Coupal. Earlier in the half, Coupal batted away a high shot headed for the upper left corner of the Rivier goal by sophomore Linnea Alsted (Crownsville, Md.).
Junior captain Taylor Vettori (Etna, N.H.) made two defensive saves in the final 11 minutes, thwarting two near misses by Rivier to tie the game. Senior goalie Rachel Katzenberg (Reisterstown, Md.) and Vettori stopped Kayla Miles on back-to-back shots from close range with 10:43 to go in the fourth. With under two minutes to go, Vettori dived onto the carpet to stop Hailey Morse after Morse gained control of the ball behind a drawn-out Katzenberg. Morse collected the ball and shot again, but Alsted also dropped to the field to make a second defensive save in the sequence.
Katzenberg made two saves in her third shutout of the season and the sixth of her career.
Montigny's assist was her eighth of the season. The senior forward now has 45 career points, including 17 goals and 11 assists.
The Lyons will finish the season Saturday at noon at NEWMAC-leading and seventh-ranked Babson.
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Adding even more to the evening's excitement was the Lyons' celebration for Sherry Webb, who is re-retiring from coaching after 51 years as a field hockey coach. Webb initially retired after 37 years as Smith Academy's legendary head coach; she soon joined Whitcomb's staff and has served in that role for 14 more years.
"We will miss so much about you, Coach Webb, from your sage advice and unwavering support to your willingness to help players in countless ways," Whitcomb said via pregame announcements. "We are profoundly grateful for your dedication to our team. Enjoy the links!"
