SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Junior Elle Mader scored with 3:25 left to give the Mount Holyoke lacrosse team its first lead since 1-0, and the Lyons kept it there for a thrilling 12-11 victory over Wellesley on Senior Day Saturday on the MHC Turf.
Mount Holyoke (4-11, 2-7 NEWMAC) earns its second NEWMAC win of the season and its first against the rival Blue (1-13, 0-9 NEWMAC) since 2019.
"I think we really pulled together and played with heart," said junior captain Emi Bisson (Chester, Conn.), who paced the Lyons with four goals and two assists. "Every single person left it all out there. It's a huge win for our seniors, and it just shows so much growth from us."
Wellesley led 10-6 after Katie McCabe's fourth goal three minutes into the third quarter, but the Lyons outscored the Blue 6-1 over the final 27 minutes of the game.
Mount Holyoke's comeback began with Mader feeding junior Marielle Welch (Silver Spring, Md.) for her second goal of the game with 5:56 to go in the third, and it was completed with Welch finding Mader open over the middle for the go-ahead putaway with 3:25 to go.
In between, first-year defender Allison Del Sarto (Issaquah, Wash.) scored her third goal of the year with a free-position shot; Bisson potted her third and fourth goals of the game, the last of which tied the game at 11-11 with 9:48 to go; and senior Madison Millyan (Winchester, Mass.) tallied her second goal of the contest in a memorable Senior Day for the tri-captain.
The teams traded three goals apiece in the first quarter before back-to-back woman-down goals by Charlotte Petersen-Kopman and McCabe ended the quarter with the Blue ahead 5-3. McCabe scored again to open the second quarter, and Wellesley led 7-5 at the half.
A free-position goal by MHC first-year Juliana Spaulding (Wakefield, Mass.), her 39th score of the season, closed the deficit to 7-6 in the first minute of the second half. But Wellesley responded with three straight goals, by Amelia Woodard, Petersen-Kopman, and McCabe, to open their 10-6 advantage.
Junior defender Alex Twomey (Nutley, N.J.) played a tremendous game for Mount Holyoke, with nine draw controls, seven ground balls, and four caused turnovers. Spaulding also caused four turnovers and collected five ground balls. First-year goaltender Valeria Bolanos (Newington, Conn.) earned her fourth victory, making seven saves.
Spaulding finished with two goals and an assist, while Welch and Millyan tallied two goals apiece. Senior Ella Phillips (Sandwich, Mass.) totaled four ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers in her final home game.
Aspen Caudill made five saves in the second half in the Wellesley loss. Anna Blake-Patrick made seven saves in the first half.
McCabe finished with four goals, one assist, fve caused turnovers and four ground balls for the Blue. Petersen-Kopman scored three goals with an assist, and Mallory Kennison added two goals.
The Lyons play at Springfield Wednesday at 6pm to wrap up the their most winning season since 2019. Wellesley hosts Babson Wednesday at 7pm.
