Howes, Cipriano both score in the victory

NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's soccer team turned in a 2-1 victory over Smith College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Mirrione Stadium to conclude the 2014 regular season.

With the win, No. 4 Wheaton (12-6-2, 6-3-1 NEWMAC) will host No. 5WPI next Tuesday in the NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. No. 6 Smith (6-7-3, 4-4-2 NEWMAC) will travel to No. 3 Babson next Tuesday, also at 1:30 p.m.

Prior to today's game, Wheaton seniors Lauren Corigliano (Roselle Park, N.J./Roselle Park), Kelsee Howes (Maynard, Mass./Maynard), Gabriella Verde (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Laila Razzaghi (Ringoes, N.J./Princeton Day School) were all honored for their contributions towards the women's soccer program.

Howes gave the Lyons a 1-0 advantage in the 14th minute of the contest with her seventh goal of the season on feeds from sophomore Kaitlin Montoya (Placentia, Calif./Orange Lutheran) and junior Julia Cipriano (Middlebury, Conn./Pomperaug). Montoya generated the scoring opportunity from the left flank with a long run and a cross to the far right post for Cipirano, who then one-touched a pass to Howes in the center of the box for the tally.

In the 53rd minute, Cipriano put Wheaton ahead 2-0 with her seventh goal of the season when she received a pass from Howes near the penalty area, turned and fired a shot into the lower right corner of the net.

Smith cut its deficit in half at the 87:31 mark as sophomore forward Emily Smith (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) one-timed a corner kick near the right post past the dive of Wheaton junior goalkeeper Ali Hinton (Lafayette, Colo./Alexander Dawson School) for her fourth goal of the year. Classmate Innis Hitt (Arlington, Va./Yorktown) received the assist on the play.

The Lyons, who outshot the Pioneers 25-8 in the contest, held the visitors to zero scoring chances for the remainder of the contest to secure the victory. Hinton finished with two saves in the win (10-4-1), while Camryn Biasin (Lee, Mass./Berkshire) stopped a game-high six shots in the loss (0-2-0). Backup goalkeeper Shelby Hall (West Springfield, Mass./West Springfield) recorded three saves in 45 minutes of action off the bench.

Wheaton is now 28-18-1 in the all-time series against Smith, which dates back to 1979, and also is 7-2-1 in its last ten games this season.

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