Lyons fall to 5-4-1 overall, 0-1-0 NEWMAC

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Wheaton College women's soccer team, ranked No. 9 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) New England regional poll, dropped a 2-1 decision in overtime to WPI in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

WPI sophomore midfielder Erin Bracken (Bridgewater, Mass./Sacred Heart) notched the game-winning goal at 99:56 to give the Engineers the 2-1 overtime victory. Bracken, who nearly ended the game with nine seconds left in the extra session when her laser caromed off the post, lofted her own rebound just out of the reach of Wheaton junior goalkeeper Lauren Thacker (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) from the top of the box five seconds later for her third goal of the season (first career game-winner).

Lyons' senior midfielder Gabriella Verde (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) nearly put the visitors in the score column in the seventh minute only to have her shot punched away by Engineer backstop Abbey Teliska (LaGrangeville, N.Y./Arlington). With 1:12 left in the opening half, Emma Turton (Mechanic Falls, Maine/Poland Regional) finished off an Emily Doherty (Shrewsbury, Mass./Worcester Academy) rebound to put the Engineers in front 1-0.

Wheaton opened the second half with a quick equalizer just 47 seconds after play resumed when Lauren Corigliano (Roselle Park, N.J./Roselle Park) sent a pass to the right side of the box to Julia Cipriano (Middlebury, Conn./Pomperaug) who beat a defender before scoring her fifth goal of the season. The Lyons had a last second bid in regulation but a shot by sophomore forward/midfielder Kaitlin Montoya (Placentia, Calif./Orange Lutheran) rolled just left of the post.

Teliska stopped seven shots while the duo of Thacker and Ali Hinton (Lafayette, Colo./Alexander Dawson School) combined to halt eight Engineer attempts.

Wheaton held a 16-14 edge in shots and a 4-2 margin in corner kicks, while WPI finished with a 10-8 advantage in shots-on-goal.

Wheaton (5-4-1, 0-1-0 NEWMAC) hosts Keene State on Wednesday, October 1 in a non-conference matchup at 4 p.m. WPI (4-4-2, 1-0-1 NEWMAC) ventures to Babson for a 4 p.m. NEWMAC tilt on Tuesday. With the win today, the Engineers snapped Wheaton's 21-game winning streak against WPI that began after a Crimson and Gray 3-1 win on October 10, 1998 in Worcester. This was only their second win in the all-time series against the Lyons (24-2-0), which dates back to 1995. 

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