CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team fell to host No. 14 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 6-0, this afternoon at Roberts Field in Cambridge, Mass.
The Lyons drop to 3-7-1 overall and 1-4 in conference action, while the Engineers win their third straight to improve to 8-1-1 and a perfect 4-0.
MIT dominated possession throughout the match and owned a 22-6 shot advantage in addition to a 6-4 margin on corner kicks.
The Engineers scored 7:41 into the match and never looked back, scoring four times in the first 29 minutes of the contest.
The Lyons had an early chance to score when they took advantage of a turnover in the MIT defensive zone. Sophomore forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) gained possession of the ball on the lower third of the pitch and dribbled down the right side, before unleashing a shot that was turned away by the diving Engineer keeper in the second minute of play.
Wheaton looked for another scoring opportunity in the 20th minute when junior forward Lily Brown (Warwick, R.I.) sent a centering cross to first year back Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) in front of the net, but an MIT defender was there to block the attempt and keep the visitors off the board.
The Lyons looked to break through in the second half when Wickenheisser fired a shot into the right post that was blocked, but sophomore midfielder Ali Roche (Maynard, Mass.) was there for the rebound, only to be denied by the Engineer goalie in the 70th minute.
Five different players scored for MIT, including senior back Julia Chen (San Diego, Calif.), who scored her first two goals of the season.
Chen's first marker came in the eighth minute of play on a header off a corner kick from sophomore forward Sean Luk (Bel Air, Md.). The home team added to its lead, less than three minutes later, when senior forward Meagan Rowlett (Dana Point, Calif.) took advantage of a miscue by the Wheaton defense and netted her fourth marker of the year in the 11 minute for a 2-0 lead.
Junior midfielder Natalie Barnouw (Los Angeles, Calif.) reclaimed the team scoring lead with her fifth tally of the year, following a throw-in during the 21st minute for a 3-0 MIT advantage. Chen's second goal was like the first – on a header off a corner kick, but Barnouw assisted on the score this time in the 29th minute for the Engineers' fourth goal before the half.
Luk recorded her second assist of the day for the Engineers when she found senior forward Lexi Spinetta (Austin, Texas) on a break for the goal for her first score of the season in the game's 60th minute. Rowlett also figured into her second goal of the afternoon for MIT when she sent a cross to first year forward Macy Lehrer (Danville, Calif.) for the rookie's first collegiate goal in the 83rd minute to cap the scoring at 6-0.
Wheaton sophomore keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) finished the match with 12 saves, while senior starting goalie Morgan Everett (Danville, Pa.) stopped both shots she faced in the opening half for the Engineers, before yielding to sophomore Ava Muffoletto (Kings Park, N.Y.), who was also credited with two saves in the second half of play to share the shutout.
The Lyons return to action on Friday, October 6 when they head to Boston, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Emerson College on Rotch Field at 1:00 p.m., while MIT hosts Springfield College on October 7 at 4:00 p.m. in a conference tilt.
