Sharick nets hat-trick for Wheaton

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team raced out to a 10-2 halftime lead and held on for an eventual 13-11 triumph over MIT in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Keefe Field.

Sophomore midfielder Melanie Sharick (Amherst, Mass./Amherst) filled the stat sheet for Wheaton with three goals, three ground balls and three draw controls. Freshmen Allie Bush (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk), Mia Cambi (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) and Brooke Sabol (Landgrove, Vt./Burr & Burton Academy) and junior Leila Mills (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) all added two goals to the Lyons attack.

Engineers' senior Laura Wacker (Brooklyn, N.Y./Poly Prep Country Day) led all scorers with four markers. Freshman Kira Schott (New Canaan, Conn./Greenwich Academy) aided the offense with two goals, seven ground balls, four draw controls and two caused turnovers.

The Lyons netted four-straight goals from the opening draw control as Sharick found the back of the net at the 29:15 mark. Sabol scored an unassisted tally at 28:08, junior Hayley Bright (Cumberland, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) ripped home a shot at 22:13 and Mills rounded out the scoring outburst at 21:42 on a nice feed from junior Charlotte De Santis (Darien, Conn./Cushing Academy).

Wacker put MIT on the scoreboard with 19:20 remaining in the first half with an unassisted marker. Wheaton outscored the Engineers 6-1 over the final 15 minutes of the stanza as Sharick guided the charge with two goals.

In the second half, MIT closed the gap with a 4-0 run over the span of three minutes (13:39-10:39) receiving goals from freshman Isabella DiDio (Jenkintown, Pa./Germantown Friends School), senior Megan Wright (Devon, Pa./Conestoga), Wacker and Schott.

Bush added an insurance tally at 6:45 before the Engineers rattled off two goals with less than one minute and 30-seconds to play to conclude the scoring.

Wheaton won the draw control matchup, 14-12, and outworked MIT defensively in the ground balls category, 24-22. The Engineers went 16-for-17 in clear attempts while the Lyons were 13-for-16.

Sophomore goalkeeper Katy Ananian (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) made a game-high seven saves in the win for the Blue and White. Second-year goalkeeper Candice Kaplan (Arlington, Va./Thomas Jefferson HS for Sci. and Tech.) turned away six shots.

Wheaton (3-3, 1-0 NEWMAC) welcomes Springfield College to Keefe Field on Saturday, March 30 for a NEWMAC contest at 1:00 p.m. MIT (2-3, 0-1 NEWMAC) hosts Smith on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.