MIDDLETOWN, R.I. -- The Mount Holyoke lacrosse team took an 8-6 lead through three quarters, before Salve Regina University's explosive fourth quarter resulted in a 17-9 win for the host Seahawks in a NEWMAC game played Wednesday night on Gaudet Field.
Salve Regina (7-5, 3-3 NEWMAC) opened the fourth quarter with the ball and an unassisted goal by Lois Manning with 14:17 to go in the game, closing Mount Holyoke's lead to 8-7.
After a shot by sophomore Allison Del Sarto (Issaquah, Wash.) was blocked, Salve's Avery Nistle picked up the ground ball and scored seconds later to tie the game at 8-8 with 11:36 remaining in the game.
Daniella Bruno won the next draw for Salve, and seconds later Teagan McDonald fed Madison Maire for the Seahawks' go-ahead goal with 11:09 remaining in the period.
The pattern repeated as six times in the quarter, the Seahawks followed their own goal with another score while allowing the Lyons no possession in between. Bruno, Alix Madden and Nora Cooney all had multiple draw controls for Salve during their run, and Maire scored four of her five goals while the Seahawks went from 8-7 down into a 15-8 lead over a six-minute span.
Senior Elle Mader (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored her team-high third goal of the game for Mount Holyoke with 3:11 remaining to interrupt Salve's run, but the Seahawks had already put the game out of reach. Madden scored two more goals in the final two minutes to finish with a game-high six goals for Salve.
Mount Holyoke made up for two deficits of two goals or more earlier in the game to earn their lead after three quarters, despite a 31-14 disadvantage in shots to that point (Salve finished with a 46-18 edge in shots; 33-14 in shots on goal).
After falling behind 3-0 through the first nine minutes of the game, the Lyons struck for three straight goals in the final two minutes of the first quarter to tie the game 3-3. First-year Rory Bernardo (Oaklyn, N.J.) scored on a feed from senior Marielle Welch (Silver Spring, Md.) to put the Lyons on the board with 1:41 to go. Welch then scored 26 seconds later on a feed from senior Emi Bisson (Chester, Conn.). With 23 seconds to go in the period, junior Mackenzie Hillman (Newington, Conn.) fed Mader over the middle for a turn and shoot to tie the game.
Madden returned the lead to the Seahawks early in the second quarter, but sophomore Juliana Spaulding (Wakefield, Mass.) drove down the middle and scored to retie the game at 4-4. The teams entered halftime with the hosts ahead 6-4 with an outsized 25-8 difference in shots.
Mount Holyoke matched Salve Regina in shots in the third period 6-6, but outscored the hosts 4-0. Bisson had two goals and an assist in the period and Mader and Spaulding also scored, while sophomore goalkeeper Valeria Bolanos (Newington, Conn.) made four saves as the Lyons took their short-lived lead.
Bolanos was credited with a season-high 16 saves as well as a team-high five ground balls. Salve goalie Mary Flynn Kayajan made five saves.
Mount Holyoke (5-6, 1-5 NEWMAC) next plays Sunday 1pm at SUNY Old Westbury, in the Lyons' last non-conference game of the season.
