Wellesley Lacrosse Rolls Past Smith to Open NEWMAC Play

Lemay and Sharkin sparked a Wellesley offense that featured seven different goal scorers. Senior Brit Mscisz and sophomore Chesley Hooker each picked up three goals, with Hooker adding a pair of assists for a five-point game. Juniors Meghan Peterson and Claire Canty also totaled five points with Peterson scoring a pair and adding three helpers, while Canty had a goal and four assists on the day. Rounding out the offense, Courtney Peterson picked up two scores for the Blue. 

Elsewhere for Wellesley, Canty led the team with nine draw controls and also added game-highs of three caused turnovers and three ground balls. In goal for the Blue, senior Tori Hysko got the start and posted three saves before giving way to first-year Wendy Nettleton who made nine stops. 

Smith got hat tricks from sophomore Olivia Timmins and  junior Jessica Lillquist, while junior Petru Bester and senior Kate Detrick added solo scores. Lillquist had a solid all-around day, filling out her stat line with three ground balls, a pair of caused turnovers and one draw control. Also for the Pioneers, Bester and junior Jenny Estes picked up four draw controls each, while senior Merric Kallfelz posted 10 saves in goal. 

Wellesley opened the game on a 6-0 run that spanned the first 11 minutes of play. The Blue were backed by a pair of goals from Mscisz and one each from Sharkin, Hooker, and both Petersons. Smith got on the board at 12:26 into the contest as a free position shot from Lillquist made it 6-1.

The teams then traded goals with Lillquist and Detrick scoring for Smith and Meghan and Courtney Peterson scoring for the Blue, making it 9-3 Wellesley with 7:02 to play in the stanza. Smith grabbed back-to-back scores from Timmins to make it 9-5 with 3:53 on the clock, but Wellesley used a 3-1 run to close out the half, making it 12-6 at the break.

Wellesley opened the second half much like the first, scoring seven unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes of play. The Blue surge saw Lemay score three times and Sharkin score twice, as Wellesley opened up a 19-6 lead. Smith scored the final two goals of the game, off the sticks of Bester and Timmins, but it wasn't enough as the Blue sealed the 19-8 victory.

Wellesley is back in action on its spring break trip to the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida. The team will play Union on Monday and Williams on Thursday. Smith returns to the field on Wednesday, hosting New England College at 4:00pm.