SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. -- Wheaton College scored eight goals by seven different players in the first quarter and raced to a 17-8 victory over the Mount Holyoke College lacrosse team on Senior Day for the host Lyons Saturday on the MHC Turf.
Wheaton (9-3, 4-2 NEWMAC) won its third straight game while Mount Holyoke (5-5, 1-5 NEWMAC) lost its third game in a row. The visiting Wheaton Lyons have won 14 straight games against Mount Holyoke and are 36-10-3 all-time in the rivalry.
Mount Holyoke celebrated Senior Day for six team members in midfielder Langley Berat (New York, N.Y.), attacker Emi Bisson (Chester, Conn.), defender Jane Harmon (Ashburnham, Mass.), defender Anna Kennedy (Glendale, Wis.), attacker Elle Mader (Cincinnati, Ohio), and attacker Marielle Welch (Silver Spring, Md.).
Wheaton outshot Mount Holyoke 34-27, with a 27-14 difference in shots on goal. Turnovers were even between the sides, but Wheaton won 16 of 27 draws and held MHC to nine clears on 16 attempts, while successfully clearing on 14 of its 17 attempts.
Wheaton seized a 5-0 lead through the first seven minutes of the game, with two goals by Georgia Qua to go with scores by Annemieke Buterbaugh, Sara Spielman and Kaydie O'Neil.
Mount Holyoke got on the scoreboard halfway through the period as Bisson fed sophomore Juliana Spaulding (Wakefield, Mass.) to make it 5-1. Bisson and Spaulding connected again with 3:17 to go in the period, but the visitors potted three more goals before the end of the period, with one apiece by Emma-Jane Parsons, Jessica Chamberlin, and Kendall Maxon, to seize an 8-2 advantage just one quarter into the game.
The game settled down in the second quarter, but Wheaton increased its lead by a goal before the half. The visitors then poured it on in the third quarter, with goals by Bridget McDwyer, Claudia Shoemaker, two by Alexis Antonellis, and one by Kelsey Bennett for a 15-4 Wheaton lead after three quarters.
Mount Holyoke scored three straight goals to start the fourth quarter, ending the running game clock the rest of the way. Sophomore Helena Robinson (Gales Ferry, Conn.) and first-year Rory Bernardo (Oaklyn, N.J.) both connected after Mader scored on a Bisson assist. Mader and Bisson connected again with 4:56 remaining in the game to make it 16-8, before Wheaton's Lucy Knof finished off the scoring on an assist by O'Neil with 1:31 left in the game.
Twelve Wheaton players scored in the game, led by two apiece from Parsons, Qua, Antonellis, O'Neil and Bennett. McDwyer, Buterbaugh, and Spielman tallied a goal and two assists apiece.
Bisson was held without a goal for the first time this season, but tallied six assists, giving her 33 for the season to go with 31 goals. Spaulding tallied her fifth hat trick of the season and her first in five games, also led all players with nine draw controls and four ground balls.
Mount Holyoke sophomore Valeria Bolanos (Newington, Conn.) made 10 saves in the game. Wheaton starting goalie Jenna Langan made three saves in the first half, and Katie Geis made three saves in the second half.
Mount Holyoke plays at Salve Regina on Wednesday at 6pm. Wheaton will host Emerson Wednesday at 7pm.
