Norton, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team was defeated by visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 1-0, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action this afternoon at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 4-11 overall and 1-5 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers improve to 5-7 and 4-2.
Prior to the match, Wheaton held a pre-game ceremony to honor its three seniors consisting of Mackenzie Yates (Brownsville, Vt.), Anda Brown (Woodstock, Vt.), and Emma Lapreziosa (Bowdoinham, Maine.)
WPI had the better of the action, attempting 29 of the game's first 30 shots, but didn't dent the scoring column until its 29th and final shot midway through the final frame. The Engineers put 17 shots on frame and held a 7-6 edge in penalty corners as well.
WPI sophomore midfielder Eve Martineau (Greene, Maine) registered her first goal of 2023 and second of her career when she knocked home a feed from senior Abigail Rauch (Jackson, NJ) on a penalty corner with just 6:12 remaining in the game. Rauch received the insert pass at the top of the arc, before finding Martineau at the top of the goal mouth on the left side for a shot that went between the Lyon keeper's feet and through for the eventual game-winner.
Wheaton was awarded three penalty corners in the final three minutes that produced two big scoring opportunities in the final 120 seconds of play. Junior midfielder Delia Knox (Cumberland Center, Maine) fired a shot that was blocked and classmate Lydia Gaudreau (Gorham, Maine) unleashed a shot just wide of the cage.
Arie Lang (West Hartford, CT) and Eliza Dutson (Woodstock, CT) led the Engineers offense with nine and seven respectively, while Gaudreau accounted for two of the Lyons' three shots.
Lapreziosa was outstanding for Wheaton, stopping 16 of 17 shots for her eighth double-digit save effort this season, while WPI goalkeeper Ella Moreau (Huntington, MA) was credited with her third shutout of the year.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, October 17 when they host NEWMAC rival Springfield College for a 7:00 p.m. contest on Nordin Field, while the Engineers entertain Smith College in Worcester on the same night and time.
