NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team was defeated, 1-0, by visiting Simmons University this evening at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass. 

The Lyons fall to 1-4 on the season, while the Sharks improve to a perfect 5-0 for their best start since 2015 when they also won the first five matches to begin the year. 

Simmons extends its shutout streak to 230:03 minutes of play, including three straight shutouts. 

The visitors owned a 17-8 shot advantage and dominated the chances in the second half, 12-3, despite both teams being held scoreless in the half.

Simmons scored the only goal of the evening on a corner midway through the second quarter. Sophomore forward Anna Tedeschi (Hanover, Mass.) sent the insert past her intended receiver, senior midfielder Maddie Beckwith (Winslow, Maine) at the top of the circle, but the Sharks were able to salvage the opportunity with a cross to senior defender Haley Dover (West Springfield, Mass.), who blasted a shot from well beyond the top of the circle. Gonyea was able to get a stick on the shot to deflect it into the inside of the left post with 7:10 remaining in the quarter.

While the Wheaton defense held strong for the remainder of the match, the offense was unable to muster many quality scoring chances until late in the fourth quarter. The Lyons had a player advantage following a green card assessed to Simmons and the home team was able to take advantage when senior forward Sophie Shekarchi (Jamestown, R.I.) sent a cross to sophomore midfielder Delia Knox (Cumberland Center, Maine), who unleashed a shot ticketed for the inside of the left post, but the ball caught too much of the post and Wheaton was denied the equalizer with 3:11 left in the game.

Junior keeper Emma Lapreziosa (Bowdoinham, Maine) turned away six shots for the Lyons, while senior goalie Sarah Arenberg (South Berwick, Maine) stopped all four shots she faced to post her second shutout of the season for the Sharks.

Wheaton returns to action on Thursday, September 15 when it hosts Endicott College at 7:00 p.m. on Nordin Field, while Simmons plays on September 17 when it heads to Nashua, N.H. to take on Rivier University at 11:00 a.m.