CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team was defeated on the road by host No. 12 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 8-0, this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action at Jack Barry Field in Cambridge, Mass.

The Lyons fall to 3-12 overall and 1-5 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers, who are ranked in the most recent National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll, win their fifth straight match to improve to 12-3 and 6-1. 

MIT controlled the match with a 26-2 shot advantage and owned a 12-3 margin on penalty corners.

The Engineers boasted 12 different players with at least one point in the match, including first year midfielder Marissa Liu (Chesterfield, Mo.), who scored a pair of goals. 

MIT opened the scoring after 6:25 expired when first year Marisa Montione (Charlotte, N.C.) sent a quick pass from the far side to the middle of the circle which was redirected by senior Erica Radler (Wayne, N.J.) to the near post. The Engineers increased their lead four minutes later as senior Laura Schwendeman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) connected on a feed from senior Paige Forester (Glencoe, Ill.) during a scramble in front of the cage. 

The home team continued to control the action in the second quarter as its margin grew to 5-0 during the first half of the frame. Liu hit a pass from sophomore Ashley Lederman (Villanova, Pa.) that was hard enough to trickle into the goal after a diving stick-stop by Wheaton junior goalie Emma Lapreziosa (Bowdoinham, Maine). Less than two minutes later, sophomore Faith Choe (San Diego, Calif.) scored on a penalty corner that was set up by Lederman and Schwendeman. In the 23rd minute, the Engineers scored during another penalty corner as sophomore Jordan Dattero (East Setauket, N.Y.) connected on a pass from first-year Bailey McIntyre (Concord, Mass.). 

Just under six minutes into the third quarter, the Lyons were awarded their first penalty corner of the night. The opportunity resulted in a shot by junior midfielder Mackenzie Yates (Brownsville, Vt.) that was blocked while the ensuing attempt by sophomore midfielder Lydia Gaudreau (Gorham, Maine) was wide. Wheaton almost ended the shutout during the final seconds of the period. An MIT miscue led to sophomore midfielder Delia Knox (Cumberland, Maine) going on a fastbreak and sending a cross from the near side but a member of the Lyons' attack couldn't put a stick on it as the ball went through the circle to opposite sideline. 

The Engineers generated three goals in the fourth quarter with first year Hannah Hicks (Newton, Mass.) being a factor in the first and third goals. She earned an assist on a goal by Liu in the 50th minute and then she tapped in a feed from sophomore Alice Zehner (Gladwyne, Pa.) with 2:16 left to play. First year Shealy Callahan (Oak Park, Ill.) recorded the first point of her career when she collected the rebound of her saved shot and found Forester in the 54th minute.

Lapreziosa ended the night with 10 saves for the Lyons. Senior Kiely Smiga-McManus (Etna, N.H.) and sophomore Anna Duncan (St. Louis, Mo.) split the game in the cage for MIT and neither was forced to make a stop. 

Wheaton will be in action again when it heads to Worcester, Mass. on Saturday, October 22 to take on NEWMAC rival Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 3:00 p.m., while MIT returns to play on October 24 when it hosts Johnson & Wales University at 6:00 p.m.