SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Senior goalie Emily Oundjian (Longmeadow, Mass.) registered a career-high 19 saves and the Wheaton College (Mass.) offense tallied 14 goals on 19 shots in a 14-12 victory over the host Springfield College women's lacrosse team this afternoon in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference match at Stagg Field in Springfield, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 9-7 overall and 4-4 in league play and clinch a playoff berth in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament, while the Pride dip to 9-7 and 5-3.

Despite being outshot 43-19, Oundjian proved to be a puzzle that Springfield was unable to solve, while the Wheaton offense converted 73.6% of its shots for goals to prove the difference in the game. The Lyons would need their shooting efficiency and Oundjian's career effort after committing 23 turnovers to Springfield's total of 11. The Pride also picked up 20 ground balls to Wheaton's tally of 11 and owned a 17-13 advantage in draw controls just to add to the Lyons' remarkable victory, despite the statistical disparities. 

Junior attacker Avonlea LeBeau (North Branford, Conn.) led Wheaton with four goals and two assists and added three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover, while sophomore attacker Sophie Gromala (Killingworth, Conn.) tallied three points with two goals and an assist. Senior attacker Brooke Harvey (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) netted a goal and assisted on two others in addition to winning four draws and senior Erin Ortega (Merrimack, N.H.) scored two markers and registered a pair of draw controls.

Graduate student midfielder Jade O'Connor (Baltimore, Md.) led all scorers with five goals and added three assists for Springfield. She also picked up a ground ball, won a draw and caused a turnover. First year midfielder Sarah Newton (Colchester, Conn.) tallied three markers to go with an assist, a ground ball and a caused turnover, while sophomore middie Isabella Mazzi (Niantic, Conn.) scored a goal, assisted on another and came up with a pair of ground balls. Senior defender Gianna Scialdone (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) led all players with five draw controls, four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Junior goalie Haley Moody (Wells, Maine) stopped two of nine shots in 25:39 of action for the Pride, while senior keeper Emily McDermott (Marshfield, Mass.) denied one of eight shots in 34:21 of play.

The Lyons faced a 10-7 deficit with 10:39 to go in the third quarter, before flipping a switch and scoring four unanswered goals as part of a 7-2 run to close out the game and secure the comeback triumph.

LeBeau began the Wheaton rally with a goal coming on a free position shot at the 9:24 mark of the third period. First year attacker Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.) found the back of the net at 7:23 and sophomore attacker Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) followed with a goal of her own exactly one minute later to knot the contest at 10-10. LeBeau scored with 4:32 left in the quarter to give the Lyons their first lead since late in the first quarter. 

O'Connor found junior midfielder Hanah Hibbert (Center Harbor, N.H.) for the equalizer to pull Springfield even at 11-11 with 2:48 showing on the third quarter clock, but any elation was short-lived as Gromala scored just 19 seconds later to give Wheaton the lead for good at 12-11 with 2:29 to play in the third quarter. 

Oundjian and the Lyons defense limited the Pride to just one goal for the final 17:48 of play, while Wheaton received a pair of goals in a 31-second stretch from Ortega to give it a 14-11 lead with 8:24 to go in the match. The Lyons never scored again, but didn't have to as Oundjian made five stops in the quarter and O'Connor tallied the lone Springfield marker in the period off of a free position opportunity during a player advantage situation with 4:03 remaining in the game.

The contest's first quarter proved to be a microcosm of the game with the Lyons scoring on both of their shots, while Springfield needed 11 shots to score three times and take a 3-2 edge after the opening quarter of play. Wheaton senior attacker Jessie Kilburn (North Branford, Conn.) and senior attacker Lauren Landino (South Windsor, Conn.) traded goals within a 23-second span to knot the game at 1-1 with 7:54 to play in the period. Gromala found the back of the net at the 3:07 mark to give the Lyons a 2-1 lead. Newton and Mazzi scored back-to-back goals within 80 seconds of each other in the final 2:26 of play to give the home team a 3-2 margin at quarter's end. Meanwhile, Oundjian's day began to take shape with five saves in the quarter.

O'Connor tallied the first two goals of the second period to continue Springfield's offensive momentum from the end of the previous quarter and push its lead to 5-2 with 13:35 remaining in the quarter.

LeBeau and Newton traded goals before Wheaton junior attacker Abigail Mountain (Niantic, Conn.) was countered by Pride sophomore midfielder Samantha Andresen (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) to keep Springfield's three-goal margin intact at 7-4 with 2:09 showing on the second quarter clock. Harvey and Chamberlin tallied the final two goals of the period for the Lyons, including Chamberlin's score with just 15 ticks left in the quarter to pull the visitors to within 7-6 at the intermission.

The Pride looked to assert themselves early in the third quarter, scoring three of the first four goals of the session's first five minutes, including two from O'Connor and one from Newton, to take a 10-7 advantage with 10:39 to play in the period. It would be the last time that Springfield would experience any sense of comfort.

Wheaton returns to play when it travels to Boston, Mass. on Wednesday, April 26 to take on NEWMAC rival Emerson College at 6:00 p.m. in the regular-season finale, while the Pride host United States Coast Guard Academy on the same night at the same time in conference play.