NORTON, Mass. — Senior forward Anda Brown (South Woodstock, Vt.) and first year forward Ally Slicer (Waterford, Maine) each registered their first respective collegiate hat tricks to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team to a 7-0 victory over visiting University of Massachusetts Dartmouth this evening at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons win their third straight to improve to 3-1 for their best start since 2017, while the Corsairs fall to 1-4.
Wheaton's goal total is its highest since a 7-2 victory over Johnson & Wales University on September 26, 2017 and the margin of victory is the most since an 8-0 shutout over Daniel Webster College on September 11, 2011. The seven goals are tied for the 10th-most in program history. The Lyons defeated Nichols College, 6-1, on Saturday giving them six or more goals in back-to-back contests for the first time since 2011 when they downed Elmira College 6-2 on September 10 and came back the next day to blank Daniel Webster.
Brown and Slicer become the first pair of Wheaton teammates to register a hat trick in the same game since Aliza Underhill scored four markers and Jessica Strock tallied a trio of goals in a 14-0 triumph over Rivier College on September 11, 2010 in Nashua, N.H. Slicer becomes the first Lyon first year to notch a hat trick since Haley Chrisos scored four times and Julia Atwood tallied three goals in a 13-0 win over Regis College (Mass.) on September 1, 2007 in Norton.
Wheaton dominated possession in the match, outshooting UMass Dartmouth, 27-2, while owning a 12-2 advantage in penalty corners. The Lyons scored in every quarter and held the Corsairs without a shot in both the second and fourth periods.
Wheaton got on the board when the UMass Dartmouth keeper came out of the cage to meet a ball sent into the mix from outside the circle. The ball remained loose in front of her, where Brown collected the ball and fired a rocket into the right corner of the cage for her first marker of the night with 8:59 left in the opening quarter.
The Lyons added to their lead with a goal in the second quarter to take a 2-0 margin with 3:01 to go in the first half. Junior forward Delia Knox (Cumberland Center, Maine) unleashed a shot in the right slot that was denied by the Corsairs' keeper, but Slicer was there for the rebound try and her second score of the year.
Wheaton continued its theme with a goal in each quarter, scoring early in the third period to take a 3-0 advantage just 3:17 into the period. Sophomore midfielder Mackenna Cooke (Old Saybrook, Conn.) sent a cross from the edge of the circle to the front of the goal mouth, where Brown was waiting. The forward steadied the ball before sending the ball into the right corner for her second tally of the night and fourth of the season.
The Lyons did not let up in the fourth quarter, scoring four times to increase their cushion to 7-0. Junior midfielder Lydia Gaudreau (Gorham, Maine) took the insert pass off a penalty corner from classmate Macey Poitras-Cote (Northborough, Mass.) and fired a shot from the left side that found the back of the cage just 3:02 into the final period of play. Slicer scored the first of two markers in the quarter for her when she lifted a shot from just inside the upper left side of the circle that sailed into the far right corner of the cage for a 5-0 lead with 4:55 gone in the quarter.
Photo by © KEITH NORDSTROM
Wheaton's offense went quiet for the next nine minutes before the Lyons scored their final two markers in a span of 79 seconds. Sophomore forward Riley Levrault (Lakeville, Mass.) fired a shot that was turned back by UMD first year defender Sophia Bouffard (South Burlington, Vt.), but Brown picked up the loose ball and deposited it into the right side of the cage for her first collegiate hat trick. The marker gave the home team a 6-0 lead with 5:54 remaining in the game. Slicer picked up her own hat trick just 79 ticks later. Sophomore defender Rebecca Berman (Avon, Conn.) sent a pass from eight yards out that was deflected by Levrault to Slicer, who finished the action with her third goal of the night with 4:35 to play in the game. Both goals occurred with at least one Corsair in the penalty box as a result of a yellow card.
Senior keeper Emma Lapreziosa (Bowdoinham, Maine) registered her fifth lifetime blank sheet with a pair of saves for the Lyons. Junior goalie Hannah Trombly (Foxborough, Mass.) stopped seven of 12 shots in the first 49:55 of play for UMass Dartmouth, before yielding to sophomore Assonet, Mass.) for the final 10:05, where she turned away one of three shots on the cage.
Wheaton returns to action on Thursday, September 14 when it travels to Beverly, Mass. to take on Endicott College at 7:00 p.m., while the Corsairs head to Weston, Mass. on the same day to play Regis at 7:30 p.m.
