NORTON, Mass. — Sophomore forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) tallied her first collegiate hat trick to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team over visiting Roger Williams University, 4-1, this evening at Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 1-1-1 on the season, while the Hawks fall to 1-1-1.
Wickenheisser becomes the first Wheaton sophomore to register a hat trick since Kaitlin Montoya scored three times against Mount Holyoke College on October 18, 2014.
The Lyons held a 20-19 shooting edge in the match, while Roger Williams owned an 8-3 margin on corner kicks, but was unable to capitalize in the form of a goal.
Wheaton broke into the scoring column midway through the first half when sophomore midfielder Raquel Garces (Somerset, N.J.) fired a shot off the right side of the crossbar, but Wickenheisser was there for the rebound and the shot into the back of the net. The marker gave the Lyons a 1-0 edge in the 24th minute.
Wickenheisser struck again just over nine minutes later when sophomore midfielder Julia Sternat (Ellington, Conn.) sent a cross to her on the right side for a strike into the right corner of the net. Wickenheisser's second tally gave Wheaton a 2-0 margin in the 33rd minute of the first half. The sophomore's two goals were the only scores of the opening stanza, despite the Hawks holding an 11-8 shot advantage for the half.
Roger Williams got on the board in the 65th minute of the second half to cut the deficit in half at 2-1. Senior midfielder Sofie Morris (Bristol, R.I.) converted a feed from sophomore midfielder Sarah Newman (Sayville, N.Y.) for her first marker of the year.
The Lyons got the goal back less than eight minutes later when Sternat played a ball to Wickenheisser just outside of the top left corner of the box. The second-year player lifted a shot into the far upper right corner for her third tally of the evening to give the home team a 3-1 lead in the 73rd minute.
Wheaton received an insurance goal with 11:53 to play in the match when junior forward Lily Brown (Warwick, R.I.) netted her first goal of the season with a shot into the right corner of the net. The marker was the final score of the evening to give the Lyons a 4-1 victory.
Sophomore goalie Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) stopped 10 shots for Wheaton, while Hawks' sophomore starting keeper Coco Marrelli (Fairfield, Conn.) and classmate Bailey Bourque (Litchfield, N.H.) each played a half and each turned away two of four shots.
The Lyons return to action on Sunday, September 10 when they host Middlebury College at Mirrione Stadium at 1:00 p.m., while Roger Williams hosts Brandeis University on September 8 at 4:00 p.m.
