WORCESTER, Mass. – Sophomore midfielder Ali Roche (Maynard, Mass.) converted a penalty kick in the 67th minute to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team a 1-0 victory over host Clark University (Mass.) this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference action on Granger Field in Worcester, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 5-11-1 overall and 3-7-0 in league play, while the Cougars dip to 8-5-4 and 3-5-2.

Wheaton recorded just one shot on net with its only shot in the second half, but it's all the Lyons needed to come away with the win. Clark owned a 13-5 shot advantage, including 10-1 in the second half. 

Wheaton broke the stalemate when sophomore forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) was taken down and injured inside the 18-yard box with 23:10 remaining in the second half. Roche was given the opportunity to put the Lyons on the board with a penalty kick and she did not disappoint, delivering a shot that found the back of the net inside the left post to give Wheaton a 1-0 edge. The score was her first collegiate goal.

The Cougars looked to tie the score with 9:04 left in the match when sophomore defender Cassidy Hubbard (Kalaheo, Hawaii) fired a shot from 15 yards out inside the box, but sophomore keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) made a diving stop to her left to keep the shutout intact for the Lyons.

Aside from Wheaton's marker on the penalty kick, the team's best scoring chance came early in the opening half. First year forward Gina DeBeradinis (Grafton, Mass.) lifted shot high over the left post in the fifth minute.

Clark also had a scoring opportunity in the first stanza with 20 minutes gone in the half. Graduate student midfielder Siobhan Lounsbury (Southbury, Conn.) received the ball on a breakaway and carried it down the right side, where she unleashed a shot headed for the far post but Bandrup denied the attempt with a diving stop. 

Lounsbury finished the match with a game-high three shots for the Cougars, including two on frame.

Bandrup was outstanding for the Lyons with six saves to post her second blank sheet of the season, while junior goalie Anabella White (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) faced just one shot on frame for Clark.

The win keeps Wheaton's playoff hopes alive, before they travel to New London, Conn. to take on NEWMAC rival United States Coast Guard Academy in the season finale on Saturday, October 28 at 3:00 p.m. The Cougars head to Babson Park, Mass. to play Babson College on the same day at 1:00 p.m.