NORTON, Mass. — The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team was edged by visiting Middlebury College, 1-0, this afternoon at rainy Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 1-2-1 on the season, while the Panthers improve to 2-0-1.
The match was delayed nearly two hours due to lightning strikes.
Middlebury dominated possession with a healthy 20-4 shot advantage, including 10-3 in the opening half and 10-1 in the second stanza. The Panthers were awarded all nine corner kicks in the contest.
Despite the significant shot advantage, the Wheaton defense stood strong aside from the only blemish being the Middlebury marker in the 38th minute of play.
Junior midfielder Abby Ward (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) sent a cross into the box, where junior back Baldwin Gittens (Montclair, N.J.) settled the ball, turned and lifted a shot into the upper right corner of the net for her second tally of the season with 7:18 left in the opening stanza.
The Panthers looked to add an insurance goal late in the second half, but a nifty tally set up by a pair of assists was denied due to an offsides call with less than nine minutes to play in the match. They were turned back earlier in the session as well when senior forward Fanny Lodge (Cambridge, Mass.) headed a serve off a corner kick just inside the left post, but Lyon senior defender Taylor Matsubara (Honolulu, Hawaii) was there to prevent the score and keep it a one-goal deficit for Wheaton.
Sophomore forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) took both of the Lyons' shots that were on frame with one coming early in the first half and the other with just 48 ticks remaining on the first half clock. First year back Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) entertained a possible first half lead for Wheaton, but her shot was turned back by the crossbar in the 21st minute of action.
Sophomore keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) came up with seven saves for the Lyons, while junior goalie Sydney Poppinga (New York, N.Y.) stopped both shots she faced in the first half, before yielding to sophomore Livia Davidson (Tuxedo, N.Y.) for second half duties to combine on the Middlebury shutout.
Wheaton returns to action on Wednesday, September 13 when it hosts Bridgewater State University for a 4:30 p.m. tilt at Mirrione Stadium, while the Panthers return to the pitch on September 16 when they travel to Clinton, N.Y. for an 11:00 a.m. match with Hamilton College.
