Lyons push conference record to 4-3-0

POSTGAME COMMENTS

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's soccer team produced its third-straight shutout with a 2-0 win over Coast Guard Academy on Tuesday evening at Mirrione Stadium in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) matchup.

Wheaton senior midfielder/forward Kelsee Howes (Maynard, Mass./Maynard) found the back of the net for the third consecutive contest, while sophomore forward/midfielder Kaitlin Montoya (Placentia, Calif./Orange Lutheran) potted the insurance goal at the 23:29 mark to pace the offense. Junior back/midfielder Julie Beyar (South Hempstead, N.Y./South Side) added an assist along with Howes.

Coast Guard senior goalkeeper Holly Moore (Pittsfield, Mass.) stopped a season-high 11 shots in the loss. Lyons junior goalkeeper Ali Hinton (Lafayette, Colo./Alexander Dawson School) notched five saves in the victory (8-4-0) for her sixth clean sheet this season.

Howes opened up the scoring in just the second minute of the game with a shot from the top of the box that deflected off of Moore's hands and into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the year. Beyar initiated the tally with a long pass over the top of the back line from Wheaton's defensive half of the pitch.

Montoya made it 2-0 at the 23:29 mark with her eighth goal of the season on a feed by Howes, who headed a ball into space for Montoya from the halfway line. Montoya, who has scored four goals in her last two games, is tied with senior Lauren Corigliano (Roselle Park, N.J./Roselle Park) for the team-lead in goals this year.

Bears' junior midfielder Sarah Hills (Brooklyn, N.Y.) nearly cut the deficit in half in the 54th minute but her scoring bid from outside the box struck the crossbar and the subsequent rebound was later cleaned up by Hinton inside the scoring area.

At the 69:03 mark, Coast Guard sophomore midfielder Katie Clark (Sacramento, Calif.) kept the score at 2-0 by clearing Wheaton first-year forward Caren McCarthy's (San Jose, Calif./Pioneer), which was destined to sneak inside the far right post, out of the net for the Bears' fourth team save of their 2014 campaign.

Wheaton finished with a 27-9 advantage in shots and a 9-0 margin in corner kicks. Howes led the Lyons with six shots, while Corigliano and junior forward/midfielder Julia Cipriano (Middlebury, Conn./Pomperaug) tied with five shots apiece. Hills compiled a team-high two shots for the visitors.

Wheaton (10-6-1, 4-3-0 NEWMAC) travels to Clark University for a pivotal league matchup on Saturday at 1 p.m. Coast Guard (8-6-1, 3-4-0 NEWMAC) hosts Emerson College on Friday at 5 p.m.

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