NORTON, Mass. — Wellesley College scored with less than five minutes left in the match to the Blue a 2-1 victory over the host Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team this afternoon in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference season opener at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons drop to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in league play, while Wellesley improves to 4-2 overall and 1-0.
The match was evenly contested with Wheaton holding an 18-17 edge in shots and a 9-7 margin in penalty corners.
First year forward Alex Butulis (Raleigh, N.C.) took a feed from junior Camille Newman (New York City, N.Y.) in the left slot for the visitors and scored on a sweeping back-handed shot that eluded the Lyon keeper with 4:23 remaining in the contest.
The goal completed a comeback for the Blue after facing a 1-0 deficit midway through the third period.
Neither team was able to find the back of the cage in the first half, before Wheaton scored with 8:04 to go in the third quarter. Wellesley's keeper stopped the first seven shots she faced, but the Lyons broke through on a penalty corner to take a 1-0 edge. Sophomore midfielder Mackenna Cooke (Old Saybrook, Conn.) took the insert pass from junior midfielder Macey Pointras-Cote (Northborough, Mass.) and fired a shot from the top of the circle that was redirected on a tip from Pointras-Cote that found the back of the cage. The marker was the first of the year for Poitras-Cote.
The Blue got the goal back exactly four minutes later when Newman fired a shot in front of the goal mouth that was denied by the Wheaton goalie, but senior forward River Schiff (Potomac, Md.) was there for the rebound in the right slot for her second tally of the year.
Wellesley looked to get on the board early in the match when senior forward Cassidy Novello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) was awarded a penalty stroke with 3:27 to play in the opening quarter, but Wheaton senior goalie Emma Lapreziosa (Bowdoinham, Maine) stretched to keep the ball out of the left side of the cage.
Senior keeper Krya Deehr-Lewis (Newtown, Pa.) was outstanding for the Blue, recording 11 saves, while Lapreziosa turned away seven shots for the Lyons.
Wheaton heads to Worcester, Mass. on Tuesday, September 19 to play Worcester State University at 7:00 p.m., while Wellesley returns to action on the same night when it travels to Brunswick, Maine to take on Bowdoin College at 6:00 p.m.
