WLAX Drops Season Opener to Lyndon State

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's lacrosse team opened the 2018 season with an 18-7 loss to Lyndon State College on Sunday afternoon at Silfen Field.

Mikayla Hodge led all scorers with eight goals and three assists as Lyndon State improved to 2-0 on the season. Taylor Cavaliero chipped in with four goals while Danielle Kuiper added three goals and two assists for the Hornets.

Kate McCormack and Lindsey Fairbank each finished with two goals and an assist to pace Mitchell (0-1 overall). Francesca Pinard, Rachel Barda and Hannah Corrigan also found the scoring column for the Mariners.

Early goals by Cavaliero and Hodge gave Lyndon State a 2-0 lead out of the gate. Mitchell cut the deficit in half when Barda tallied the first of her collegiate career with 21:21 remaining in the first half.

The Hornets responded with six straight goals over a 6:29 stretch to seize control. Hodge scored three times during the spurt while Cavaliero added a pair of markers as the lead ballooned to 8-1 with 14:27 to go in the period.

Corrigan and Pinard later provided back-to-back scores for the Mariners to make it 8-3, but Lyndon State netted four of the final five goals of the half to take a 12-4 lead into intermission.

McCormack opened the second-half scoring with her second goal of the day, but the Hornets answered with five straight tallies to bring the lead to double-digits. Kuiper had three goals in the second half while Hodge added two.

Lyndon State's Paige Daley picked up her second win in goal this season, making five saves against 19 total shots. Mitchell goalie Gillian MacLellan finished with 16 saves against 42 shots in her season debut.

Mitchell will next play at Rhode Island College on Saturday, March 17 at 1 p.m. Lyndon State returns to action at Wheelock College on Saturday, March 10 at noon.