NORTON, MA- Sophomore Emily Vincunas' (Granville,
MA/Wilbraham & Monson Academy) first marker of the
season, with 10:01 remaining, snapped a tie and lifted the
second-seeded Wheaton College women's soccer team past number-seven
Babson College, 2-1 during a New England Women's and Men's Athletic
Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament quarterfinal contest on Saturday in
Mirrione Stadium. Wheaton improved to 17-2-2, while the Beavers
fell to 11-8-1.
The Lyons, who are ranked 25th nationally by the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and sit fourth in New
England, handed Babson, which is sixth in the regional poll, its
sixth one-goal loss of the fall. Wheaton advances to the league
tournament semifinals for the 15th straight season, as it will
oppose third-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
next Saturday at Wellesley College at a time to be determined.
Vincunas netted her winner at 78:59 after the ball took an odd
bounce in the box over a Babson defender and the keeper following a
failed Beaver clear, and Vincunas headed the ball into an open net
from five yards away. Sophomore Jessica Stuart (Weymouth,
MA/Weymouth) also scored for the hosts, staking Wheaton to
an advantage with six seconds left in the opening half, while
classmate Lindsay Leddy (Warwick, RI/Wheeler
School) made four saves, all in the second half.
Freshman Amy Festa (Medfield, MA/Medfield)
provided the tying marker for the Beavers, and junior Sarah
Macary (Woodbury, CT/The Gunnery) made two saves in
net.
The Lyons held a 6-1 advantage in shots during the opening
stanza, nearly grabbing the lead at 11:30, but junior Emily Hough (Norwich, VT/Hanover) drove a shot off the crossbar
after picking off a pass at midfield and carrying just inside the
box.
Hough was instrumental in Wheaton's first tally. With fewer than
10 seconds left in the first half, she faked out a defender by
switching the ball to her left foot and sending a cross from near
the right corner toward the front of the goal, where senior
Rosie Levy (Torrance, CA/Chadwick School) headed a
ball to the right post, and Stuart knocked home her shot at
44:54.
The Beavers increased offensive pressure in the final period,
edging the Lyons in shots, 8-7 while taking three of the half's
four corner kicks. Leddy kept her team in front during the 74th
minute, denying consecutive headers by freshman Nichole
Vargas (Warren, RI/Saint Mary Academy-Bay View) off a
corner-kick sequence.
After just missing the upper left-hand corner of the goal during
the 46th minute, Festa knotted the contest at 74:59, drilling a
free kick from 20 yards away off the crossbar and into the left
side of the net. Following Wheaton's go-ahead goal, Macary stopped
a point-blank try in the 82nd-minute, and Festa's last-chance shot
from 25 yards out with 14 seconds to go was wide.
