NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team took advantage of an own goal to secure a tie with visiting Wellesley College this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Mirrione Stadium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons are now 7-8-2 overall and 4-5-1 in NEWMAC play following their regular-season finale, while the Blue stand at 5-7-3 and 0-6-3. The tie locks Wheaton in as the sixth seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament. The Lyons will wait for results of the final weekend of conference matches on October 29 to find out who will host them in the first round on November 1. Wheaton qualifies for the NEWMAC Tournament for the 24th consecutive time and also earned a spot in the previous 11 NEW 8 and NEW 6 Tournament Championship playoffs to give the Lyons a current string of 35 straight playoff appearances. They are the only NEWMAC institution to make this claim.

The contest was an odd juxtaposition with Wheaton receiving a goal in the first half, despite being outshot 11-2, while Wellesley netted its only marker in a second half that saw the Lyons own an 11-3 shot margin. Wheaton held a 6-1 advantage on corner kicks.

The Blue had a couple prime chances within a five-second span to score and get on the board first midway through the opening half, but were denied on both. Junior forward Thea Feldgoise (Brookline, Mass.) was able to collect a thru-ball on a break-away and fired a shot on net, but junior keeper Felicia Fauteux (Granby, Conn.) came up to meet the play and stopped the attempt with a dive for the Lyons. Sophomore forward Ariel Moncrief (Tucson, Ariz.) corralled the rebound on the left side of the box, but Fauteux was able to recover and get back on her line for a second diving stop on a shot ticketed for the far left post.

Wheaton was finally able to break the scoreless stalemate in the 32nd minute of play.

Senior forward Trinity Cloud (Seekonk, Mass.) intercepted a clearing attempt by the Wellesley backfield and sent a cross inside the box to sophomore forward Lily Brown (Warwick, R.I.), who was streaking down the left side, but a Blue defender met the ball first and her momentum carried the ball into the back of the net to result in an own goal for the Lyons.

Wellesley knotted the match just 6:25 into the second half on a flukey goal that resulted in a 1-1 match in the 52nd minute of play. Junior forward Paige Sangston (Greenwich, Conn.) zipped a hard pass across the top of the box to Feldgoise, who quickly put a foot on the ball for a ball the popped into the air and came down just over the goal line for the waiting Wheaton keeper, but it proved difficult to handle and went off the netminder's hands and inside the far right post for a goal.

Neither team was able to record the go-ahead goal for the final 38 minutes of play. The Blue benefited from the aggressive play of senior keeper Kendall Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.), who actively came off her line to prevent a number of offensive opportunities for the Lyons.

Cloud led the home team with four shots, including two on net.

Fauteux made five saves for Wheaton, while Lincoln turned away seven shots for Wellesley.

The Blue will finish their season on October 29 when they travel to South Hadley, Mass. to take on NEWMAC rival Mount Holyoke College at 1:00 p.m.