Blair Smith
Blair Smith carries the ball through traffic in transition in the first half of the Owls 11-5 win over Mount Holyoke on Wednesday. (Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports)
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Powered by goals from 10 different players, the Westfield State University lacrosse team defeated Mount Holyoke College, 11-5 in non-conference action on Wednesday evening. It was not only the first win of the season for the visiting Owls (1-1), but also the first series win over Mount Holyoke (0-2), who had won each of the previous seven meetings.
After a close opening half, which saw Owls’ senior Roni Orcutt (Granville, Mass./Westfield) score at the 5:02 mark to send the game into intermission locked 2-2, Westfield State broke open the game with five straight goals to grab a 7-2 lead midway through the frame. Sophomore midfielder Stephanie Godek (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield) paced the effort with tallies to open and end the rally.
Roni Orcutt tied the game at 2-2 on this shot in the first half. (WSU Sports)
Mount Holyoke responded with 19:18 to play as sophomore midfielder Leila Kouakou (Leeds, Mass./Northampton) fed it to herself on a drop ball and fired it in past Owls’ goalie Mimi Khampaeng (Hampden, Mass./Minnechaug).
The Owls quickly answered as Orcutt sent a pass from behind the net on the left side to first year Alexa Tonelli (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury), who cut down the middle and fired it past MHC’s Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville School) at the 18:19 mark. Godek then added a helper to her stat sheet as she fed a shot to a speeding Olivia Overdahl (Milford, Mass./Milford) for the score and a 9-3 advantage.
The homestanding Lyons made a run as sophomore Molly Dunphy (Williston, Vt./Champlain Valley Union) found the back of the net with 7:38 on the clock and classmate Kaitlin Braz (Tolland, Conn./East Catholic) made it a 9-5 game after collecting the ball from first year Haley Subocz (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) and sending a low shot in past Khampaeng.
Westfield State got the tallies back as sophomore Samantha Coyle (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) scored at 4:45 and first year Marissa Nimeskern (Hanover, Mass./Hanover) pitchforked a loose ball into an empty net to cap the game scoring at 1:29.
In goal, Khampaeng finished with 11 saves to earn the win, while Rodriguez stopped four shots in defeat.
The two teams equaled out in shots for the contest with 20 apiece, while Westfield State held a 12-6 edge in draw controls. The Lyons owned a 17-14 advantage in ground balls for the game, while also going 15-16 on the clear. Westfield State was 14-22 for the game in clears.
Both squads return to action on March 15 for spring break contests in Clermont, Fla. Mount Holyoke faces Fitchburg State (11am), while Westfield State plays Skidmore (4pm). – Courtesy of WSU Sports
