Lyons now 4-0 in NEWMAC play

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Wheaton College sophomore Allie Bush (Kennebunk, Maine/Kennebunk) had four goals and two assists and classmate Brooke Sabol (Landgrove, Vt./Burr & Burton Academy) scored three times and chipped in with three assists as the Lyons defeated Babson College, 14-11, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse action on Tuesday afternoon at MacDowell Field.

With its fourth consecutive victory, Wheaton is now 8-5 overall and in sole possession of first place in the NEWMAC at 4-0, while Babson drops to 4-8 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

Junior Rachel Secrist (Westford, Mass./Westford Academy), who notched her 100th career goal in the first half, tied her career-high with six goals and had two assists to lead the Beavers. Sophomore McKenzie Tucci (Winchester, Mass./Winchester) added a pair of goals and freshman Katie McKenna (Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) contributed a career-high four assists. Senior Misha Beatty (Westwood, Mass./Westwood) won a game-high five draw controls in the loss.

Sophomore Jenna Tewksbury (Concord, N.H./Concord) scored twice and had two assists for the Lyons. Senior Hayley Bright (Cumberland, Maine/North Yarmouth Academy) collected a game-high six ground balls, while classmate Leila Mills (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) led all student-athletes with four caused turnovers in the win.

Tucci gave the Green and White a 1-0 lead just 3:29 into the contest, but Wheaton responded with three goals in the span of 3:21 to grab a two-goal edge. Freshman Francesca Giovanucci (Easton, Mass.Southfield School) stopped the run, converting a feed from Secrist, but goals from Bush and Sabol around a free-position strike from Bright gave the Lyons a 6-2 lead with 13:55 left in the opening half.

After trading tallies, the Beavers ended the half with a four-goal run to pull even at halftime. Tucci started the spurt with a goal at the 7:53 mark and McKenna set up strikes by both Secrist and freshman Kiley Fischer (Marblehead, Mass./Marblehead) to cut the deficit to one. Secrist followed with her third goal of the stanza just 74 seconds before halftime to make it 7-7.

Both teams scored in the opening minute of the second half before the Lyons took control of the game with four-goal spurt. Sabol made it 9-8 with a free-position shot, and then fed Bush to make it a two-goal game with 25:10 remaining. Tewksbury notched her second goal of the day with 20:31 to go to give Wheaton a three-score edge, and Bush followed with the last of her four goals as the visitors pushed the lead to 12-8 with 16:51 left.

Babson got back within three on a goal by Beatty with 15:54 to go, but after nearly eight minutes without a tally by either team, Mills converted a feed from junior Kelsie Jenquine (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) to help Wheaton regain its four-goal lead. Secrist would tack on a pair of late markers for the Beavers, who were unable to get closer than three in the closing minutes.

Senior Julie Baharestani (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) finished with eight saves for the Green and White, while junior Katy Ananian (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) stopped six shots for Wheaton.

The Lyons finished with a 27-24 edge in shots and forced 26 turnovers on the afternoon. The Beavers held a 14-9 advantage in draw controls.

Both teams return to action on Saturday at 1 p.m. as Babson travels to Smith, while Wheaton hosts MIT.

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