By Mike Raposo
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Led by senior midfielders Peggy Wefald and Perry Markell, the Mount Holyoke College women’s lacrosse team picked up a 14-11 triumph over non-conference foe Bridgewater State College this afternoon at Swenson Pitch.
It was the Lyons first victory over the Bears since the 2006 season. Mount Holyoke (4-2) has picked up three wins in their last four outings, while Bridgewater (3-3) has dropped two straight games.
Wefald racked up six goals for the second time this spring and also notched one assist and seven draw controls. Meanwhile, Markell finished with five points on three goals and a pair of assists to go along with three draws. It was her fourth hat trick of the year. Junior attacker Clara Raugei chipped in with one goal and one assist.
Bridgewater State was paced by junior attacker Jenny Jones, who collected six points on five goals and a helper as well as three draw controls. Classmate Courtney Lennon and senior Katie DeMaio recorded two goals apiece. Lennon also added a pair of assists.
Mount Holyoke scored the first three goals of the game and led 5-1 following Wefald’s first tally at the 21:37 mark. Bridgewater State sliced the deficit to 7-5 on a goal by Jones with just under eight minutes remaining in the first half, but the Lyons closed out the frame with three unanswered tallies to take a 9-5 edge into the break.
Jones was at it again in the early stages of the second stanza, when she found the back of the net twice in a span of 37 seconds to trim the lead to 9-7. Wefald put an end to the run at the 26:48 mark, and freshman defender Mary Webster expanded the Mount Holyoke cushion to 11-7 less than a minute later. From there, the Lyons cruised, leading by as many as five goals (13-8) down the stretch.
Mount Holyoke finished with advantages in shots (25-17) and draw controls (16-11). Lyons' sophomore goalkeeper Jeanmarie Petersen made three saves en route to her fourth win of the year. At the other end, senior Meghan Griffin stopped nine shots for the Bears.
With her six points, Jones moved past Ann Silvia into fifth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list. Jones now has 208 points in just three seasons at Bridgewater State, while Silvia tallied 204 points from 1997 to 2000.