Box Score NORTON, Mass.  - Alex Larosee (Warwick, RI/Wheeler School)'s first career goal in the 55th minute put the Smith College Field Hockey Team ahead of Wheaton 3-2 and stood up as the game-winner as the Pioneers defeated the Lyons 7-2 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday.  

Larosee's tally came on a loose ball in traffic, which she flipped off of the left sideboards, following a Smith penalty corner.  The Pioneers would add four more goals over the final 15 minutes for the final scoreline, improving to 3-4 on the season, 2-0 in NEWMAC.

Smith opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Elsie Odhiambo (Oyugis, Kenya/Kisumu Girls School) attacked the circle from the right wing and carried the ball across the goalmouth, sliding a reverse to the left of Wheaton goalkeeper Emily Curran for the early advantage.  But the Lyons wasted no time in answering, as Katie Peters saved a ball on the endline to the left of the Smith goal and found Kelsey Harris, who slotted home her sixth goal of the season.

Just under five minutes later, Wheaton had their first lead of the game when Peters struck on a penalty corner with Harris providing the helper on the insertion.

With Smith controlling much of the possession, they leveled the match in the 26th minute on a vigorous attack down the left wing.  Mariah Ollive (Milton, Vt./Milton) received a through pass and entered the circle with speed, sending a shot across the face of goal to the back post where Bayleigh Bogan (Encinitas, CA/La Costa Canyon) was waiting to tip in her first collegiate goal.  

The Pioneers outshot Wheaton 9-6 in the first half and earned six corners to the Lyons' one, setting the stage for an even more dominant second period in which 11 of the 12 shots came off of Smith sticks and Smith won all 10 penalty corners.  

After Larosee broke the stalemate in the 55th, Beatrice Chaudoin (Millersville, MD/Severna Park) doubled the advantage with her third goal of the season just over four minutes later.  On a penalty corner, Chaudoin gather a bouncing ball outside of the circle and carried it just over the 16-yard line, whistling a shot off of a defender's stick into the top left corner of the net.

The lead was extended to three less than three minutes later on another Smith corner as Julia Hamilton (Williamstown, Mass./Deerfield Academy) corralled a pass along the baseline and slipped a feed to the stroke mark, where Kathleen Lima (Cheshire, CT/Northfield Mount Hermon), named last week's Smith College Athlete of the Week, was waiting to finish her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

With the Pioneers continuing to pressure the circle, a 65th minute penalty corner earned Smith their first penalty stroke of the season, which Kat Estes (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) finished with poise to stretch the advantage to 6-2.  

The final marker of the afternoon came in the 68th minute as Smith's speed yielded a counterattack goal.  Maddy Hubbard (Keene, NH/Keene) intercepted a pass on the left side at the 25 and advanced towards the baseline, sending a cross past the Wheaton netminder that was touched in by Odhiambo for the junior's third goal of the season.

Saturday marks the first time that Smith has scored at least seven goals in a NEWMAC match since October 21, 2008, when the Pioneers defeated WPI 8-3.  

Smith begins a four-game homestand on Tuesday with a non-conference match against Simmons at 5:00 p.m.


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