NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team scored a pair of goals within the first 21 minutes of the match in a 2-1 victory over visiting Smith College this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action on the rain-soaked grass at Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 4-11-1 overall and 2-7 in league play, while the Pioneers dip to 5-6-3 and 3-4-2.
Smith outshot its host, 17-9, including 12-5 in shots on net, but Wheaton attempted the first three shots of the afternoon and scored twice on its first four attempts. The Lyons ended an eight-game scoring drought that spanned 743:49 minutes. The Pioneers were awarded three corner kicks to Wheaton's two.
The Lyons got on the board in the 10th minute of play in the opening half to take a 1-0 lead. Junior forward Lily Brown (Warwick, R.I.) played a ball into the box, where sophomore midfielder Julia Sternat (Ellington, Conn.) received the ball. She dribbled into the goal mouth, before firing a shot that deflected off a Smith defender and into the far left corner of the net for her second marker of the season.
Wheaton doubled its lead just over 11 minutes later to take a 2-0 margin in the 21st minute. Sophomore forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) weaved her way through a slew of Pioneer defenders, before unleashing a shot that found the back of the net inside the near right post for her team-leading seventh goal of the year.
Smith cut the deficit in half in the 61st minute when junior defender Seychelle Brainard (Kaneohe, Hawaii) sent a cross from the left corner of the field into the box, where junior defender Kyla Warner (Katy, Texas) put a foot on it to direct it past the Lyon keeper and into the right side of the net. The marker was the third of the season for Warner to make it 2-1.
Wheaton sophomore keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) was outstanding for the Lyons with 11 saves, while sophomore starting keeper Skylar Smith (Carlisle, Mass.) turned away one of three shots she faced for the Pioneers in the first half, before yielding to graduate student Noemi Howland (South Pasadena, Calif.), who turned away both shots she faced in the second stanza.
Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, October 25 when it travels to Worcester, Mass. to take on NEWMAC rival Clark University at 7:00 p.m., while Smith hosts Mount Holyoke College on the same day at 3:30 p.m. in conference play.
