Box Score  

MANSFIELD, Conn. – Junior midfielder Anna Kennedy headed in sophomore defender Schuyler Pettibone's midfield free kick in the opening minutes of the second for the only goal as Mount Holyoke College trimmed Eastern Connecticut State University by a 1-0 score for the second straight year on opening day Saturday afternoon at Rick McCarthy Field.
 
Eastern shanked a short goal kick out of bounds to help set up the goal. Eastern was unable to clear the ball out of its defensive end and a foul at midfield provide Pettibone with a free kick. Pettibone bounced the long kick into the box past two Eastern defenders and beyond on-rushing first-year goalie Alex Ignatowicz (Coventry), with Kennedy getting a head on it and knocking it into an unprotected  goal six minutes into the second half.
 
In the Lyons' season-opening 1-0 win over Eastern a year ago, Kennedy assisted on the only goal 15 minutes into the second half in support of goalie Clarissa Govea, who made five saves in the full-match shutout. This year, Goveau, a junior, made one save in a scoreless first half, giving way to sophomore Evie Krieg, who made six saves – none difficult – in 45 shutout minutes.
 
 Seven minutes after Kennedy's goal, Eastern had a chance to tie when it was awarded a penalty kick when senior forward Katelyn Herbert (Bethpage, NY) was taken down in the box, but senior midfielder Mia DeMartino's (Tolland) booming penalty kick caromed off the left post and was cleared by the Mount Holyoke defense.
 
Senior defender Madison Palmer (Storrs) had helped set up the PK when she one-timed a chip shot from the right sideline. The ball bounced over the head of both Herbert and senior midfielder Avery Livingston (La Grange, IL) into the box, and Herbert was knocked to the ground by two defenders in pursuit of the ball.
 
Mount Holyoke nearly opened the scoring midway through the first half when junior midfielder Ada Siepmann sent a free kick perfectly over the Eastern wall that hit the underside of the rounded crossbar and bounced to the ground just outside the goal line, where sophomore keeper Kaeden Dublin (Maple Grove, MN) used her 5-foot-9 inch frame to outleap crashing junior midfielder Taryn White  and haul it in while crashing to the ground to avoid a rebound attempt.
 
With 12 minutes left in the first half, senior Hannah Ellis found herself alone in the middle of the box on a through-ball from senior Hannah Keochakian – who had scored the lone goal in the Lyon's win last year – but she drove the short shot directly at Dublin.

One of Eastern's few scoring chances came with six minutes left in the first half when first-year midfielder Glenda Zhiminaicela (Clinton) got off a hard shot from above the box which sailed over the crossbar.
 
Dublin made two saves and Ignatowicz stopped one shot.
 
Eastern outshot the Lyons, 12-8.
 
The 1-0 shutout loss was Eastern's sixth in its last 16 matches. Mount Holyoke has won four of its last 18 matches, half of them against Eastern.
 
Eastern visits Fitchburg State University in a non-conference match Tuesday at 7 p.m.
 
 
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