Lyons take first-ever meeting between the two squads

NORTON, Mass. – Wheaton College senior forward Kristina Braga (Lowell, Mass./Lowell) deposited the game-winning goal into the upper left corner of the net from the right side of the box in the 104th minute to lift the Lyons to a 3-2 double overtime victory over Eastern Nazarene College in the first round of the ECAC Tournament at Mirrione Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Wheaton (15-6-2) advances to the second round of the tournament and will play the winner of No. 2 Brandeis and No. 7 Castleton at a site to be determined later. The Judges and Spartans square off later tonight in Waltham, Mass. at 7 p.m. Eastern Nazarene's season comes to a close at 11-8-1.

Lyons' sophomore forward Cat Amick (Vashon, Wash./Vashon Island) pushed the hosts out ahead by a 2-0 margin in the first half burying a pair of goals just 5:26 apart. In the 23rd minute, Amick tallied her first goal of the season off feeds by classmate Tess Weyburne (Maynard, Mass./Maynard) and freshman Alexa Sanchez (Houston, Texas/Bellaire). Weyburne initiated the scoring with a cross from the right flank that found Sanchez directly in front of the near-side post. Sanchez followed with a one-touch a pass to Amick in front of the net for the marker.

Sophomore Julia Cipriano (Middlebury, Conn./Pomperaug) dished out her fourth assist of the season on Amick's second goal with a through ball into the middle of the box. Amick gathered the ball and tapped a low shot underneath the reach of Lions' junior goalkeeper Savannah Sivert (Laytonsville, Md./Clarkesbury) for a 2-0 advantage.

Eastern Nazarene stormed back in the second half receiving two goals from junior forward Jules Speno (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) to force overtime. At the 61:44 mark, Speno worked her way around a defender near the right side of the box and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the net for her team-leading 12th goal of the season. Speno evened the score in the 69th minute sending home a pass by freshman midfielder Katherine Lawrence (Marlborough, Conn./The Master's School) from the top of the 18-yard line.

Wheaton outshot Eastern Nazarene 35-17 in the contest including a 5-2 differential in overtime play. The Lyons also held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.

Lyons' sophomore goalkeeper Ali Hinton (Lafayette, Colo./Alexander Dawson School) made four saves in the win to improve to 3-0-0 on the season. Sivert stopped eight shots in the loss.

Braga, who notched her second game-winner of the season in the 104th minute, now leads the team with ten markers. The Lyons also pushed their record to 5-2-0 in ECAC Tournament play with the win. Wheaton captured the tournament's championship title in its last appearance prior to today in 1999. The Lyons defeated Middlebury College 1-0 at home to claim their first-ever ECAC championship.

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