Lacrosse Caps Senior Day Comeback Over Mount Holyoke with OT Winner

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Senior Chesley Hooker scored with 2:15 remaining in overtime to lift Wellesley College lacrosse to a 12-11 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Mount Holyoke College on Saturday afternoon at Wellesley's Turf Field.

Now winners of three-straight conference games, the Blue improve to 9-6 overall and 4-3 in the NEWMAC. Mount Holyoke drops to 2-11 on the season and 1-6 in conference play.

Prior to today's contest, the Blue recognized Hooker and fellow seniors Caitlin Crawford (Yarmouth, Maine), Nicole DeCanio (Weston, Conn.) and Ellie Mannon (Birmingham, Ala.).  Hooker scored the game-winner and Mannon recorded a goal and an assist in the game. DeCanio also picked up a helper, while Crawford had a ground ball.

First year Lena Engbretson (Beaverton, Ore.) rallied the Blue in the second half, scoring a hat trick that included the game-tying goal on a free position shot with 2:42 to play, to help Wellesley erase a 6-4 halftime deficit. Engbretson also had two ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers. Classmate Dacia Persky (Las Vegas, Nev.) and junior Nikki Sharkin (Summit, N.J.) each added two goals. Juniors Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) and Mary Lemay (Longmeadow, Mass.) and first year Ellie Chalphin (Philadelphia, Pa.) also scored for the Blue.

Senior Julia Bell (Longmeadow, Mass.) finished with a game-high four goals while also adding two assists for Mount Holyoke. Bell tied with classmate Catherine Ryan (Longmeadow, Mass.) for game-high honors with six points, as Ryan scored a hat trick to go along with a game-best three helpers. Sophomore Leila Kouakou (Leeds, Mass.) also scored a hat trick for the visitors, while junior Charlotte Wagner (Wast Chester, Pa.) matched Kouakou's three-point effort with a goal and two assists. On defnse, sophomore Julia Lankin (West Hartford, Conn.) had a great performace with eight ground balls and six draw controls.

Ryan and Wagner put the Lyons out in front in the opening five minutes, connecting on back-to-back goals from Ryan to make the score 2-0. Bell scored on a free position attempt at 23:54, before Wellesley was able to get on the board with goals from Lemay and Sharkin at 22:00 and 18:43.

With Mount Holyoke leading 3-2, Bell deposited her second goal of the game into the Wellesley net to make the score 4-2 at 18:28. The Blue responded with goals from Mannon and Sharkin, only to see Ryan and Kouakou score at 7:45 and 7:11 to help Mount Holyoke take a 6-4 edge into the break. 

The Lyons extended their advantage to three when Kouakou scored her second of the game four minutes into the second half. Persky closed the gap to a two-goal margin at 23:17, but Bell and Kouakou scored at 23:37 and 20:04 to stretch the Mount Holyoke lead to its largest of the afternoon, at 9-5.

From that point on, Wellesley outscored the Lyons 7-2. The Blue ran off a string of five straight goals, as a four-goal deficit turned in to a one goal lead when Engbretson scored the go-ahead tally at 8:26. 

Just under a minute and a half after Engbretson had given the Blue their first lead of the day, Bell found Wagner in front of the Wellesley goal to tie the game. Mount Holyoke would rally to take the lead at 4:10 when Ryan set-up Bell. However, Engbretson had the answer for the Blue again, tying the game at 11-11 with her hat trick goal at 2:42. That set the stage for Hooker, as the senior closed out Senior Day with the OT winner on a free position shot 3:45 seconds into the extra stanza.

Blue first year Chloe Tucker (San Ramon, Calif.) made nine saves to run her record to a perfect 3-0 on the season. Mount Holyoke junior Isa Rodriguez (Columbus, Ohio) turned back seven shots to drop to 2-11 overall.

Mount Holyoke held a 24-17 edge in ground balls and a slight 23-22 edge in shots, while each team had 13 draw controls in the game.

Both teams will close out the NEWMAC regular season on Wednesday, April 27. The Blue will travel to Wheaton for a 4:00 PM contest, while the Lyons will play at Smith at 7:00 PM.