South Hadley, Mass. – Powered by a goal in each half, the Clark University women's soccer team held off Mount Holyoke College, 2-1, in NEWMAC action on Tuesday evening. With the victory, which saw junior Janelle Pasternack (North Brookfield, Mass.) record two assists, the Cougars move to 7-7-1 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The Lyons slip to 2-10-2 on the season and 1-6-0 in the NEWMAC.

Holding a 1-0 lead after the first half of action, the Cougars made it a two-goal advantage at 58:27 when senior Hannah Moriarty (Millbury, Mass.) sent a perfectly placed header into the net off a corner kick by Pasternack.

Mount Holyoke continued to battle and the pressure finally paid off at

70:28 as senior Kiana Lussier (South Hadley, Mass./South Hadley) one-timed a loose ball into the open net. Sophomore Hannah Yee (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) earned the primary assist after her bullet shot at keeper Gabby Paolini (North Potomac, Md.) was stopped, but came right out to Lussier on the right side.

Both teams had their chances over the final stages of the second half, including a number of multiple stops for the Cougars. Lynch had one of the best attempts to make it a two-goal game for the visitors at 83:30 after she fired a shot in the MHC netminder Mackenzie Randall (Harwinton, Conn./Forman), who made a diving save and pushed it out off her fingertips.

The Lyons kept battling to the end and nearly got the equalizer with just over a minute left after junior Katie Dupuis (Holyoke, Mass./Williston Northampton School) fired a shot in off a free kick, but Paolini was up to the task.

Clark came out firing right from the start and struck first on the scoreboard as junior Emma Lynch (Pawtucket, R.I.) took a feed from Pasternack at 23:42.

For the game, Clark held a 15-11 edge in shots, while also leading in corner kicks by an 8-3 margin. In goal, Paolini earned the victory with seven stops. Randall shouldered the loss and made 10 saves on the night.

The Lyons are back on the field on Saturday at NEWMAC-rival, Springfield for a 2:30 p.m. game. The Cougars also continue league-play on Saturday at Smith in a 1:00 p.m. contest.