NORTON, Mass. – Junior forward Lily Brown (Warwick, R.I.) netted a pair of goals to match her career best and sophomore goalie Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) made a career-high 14 saves to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team to a 3-0 shutout over visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute this afternoon in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference contest at Keefe Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 3-3-1 overall and 1-1-0 in league play, while the Engineers dip to 3-4-0 and 1-1-0.
WPI owned a 22-12 shot advantage in the match, but Wheaton made the most of its shots, scoring a goal in the opening half and two more in the final 24 minutes of play. Each team was awarded four corner kicks during the match.
Wheaton got on the board early in the first half when sophomore defender Mia Wolfgang (Holliston, Mass.) served a cross into the box to lead Brown, who beat the Engineer keeper to the ball on the inner left side of the box, then flicked a shot into the left corner. The marker gave the Lyons a 1-0 edge in the 17th minute of play.
The teams remained scoreless for the remainder of the half and midway into the second half, before Wheaton's second score in the 67th minute. Sophomore back Francesca Freeman (Portland, Maine) led defender Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) into the left corner with a throw-in, before the rookie sent a centering cross to the middle of the box. Sophomore forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) was there to receive the cross and punch a shot past the keeper for her team-leading sixth marker of the year and a 2-0 margin for the home team.
Wheaton added an insurance goal with Brown's second tally of the match in the 76th minute. Sophomore midfielder Julia Sternat (Ellington, Conn.) sent a cross to the top right corner of the box, where Brown picked it up and unleashed a shot into the air that found the far left corner of twine for her fourth tally of the season with 14:47 left to play in the match.
WPI's best scoring opportunity came in the 61st minute when first year forward Maeve Steckley (Rochester, N.Y.) carried the ball down the right side of the box, before sending a cross to junior back Lottie McLeod (Newton, Mass.) in the right slot. McLeod met the ball with forward momentum, but her shot was high to keep it a 1-0 game for the Lyons.
Bandrup registered her first career shutout for the Lyons, while senior goalie Lili Hellerman (Ashland, Mass.) stopped six shots for the Engineers.
Wheaton returns to action on Friday, September 22 when it travels to Wellesley, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Wellesley College for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff, while WPI heads to Bristol, R.I. on September 21 to face Roger Williams University at 7:00 p.m.
