NORTON, Mass. – Junior midfielder Ali Roche (Maynard, Mass.) and sophomore defender Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) each scored a goal in the second half to fuel a 2-0 victory for the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team over visiting Emerson College this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 5-4-4 overall and 1-2-2 in NEWMAC play, while the Lions drop to 3-5-4 and 2-2-1.
Wheaton's victory over Emerson marked the Lyons first win in the all-time series since November 2nd, 2021 when Wheaton defeated Emerson 1-0 in a road match-up in Boston, Mass. The Lyons also recorded their first home win against Emerson since a 3-1 decision on October 13th, 2015.
Even though Emerson out-shot Wheaton, the Lyons had a strong defensive showing and blocked multiple shot opportunities by the visitors. Emerson out-shot Wheaton 17-12 in total shots. However, the Lyons generated more quality scoring chances and held a 9-5 shot on goal margin. Emerson had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the opening half after Emerson took a 6-5 shot differential into intermission.
In the second half, the Lyons scored twice within the first 10 minutes, which included a pair of goals within a seven-minute span.
Wheaton got on the board just 3:25 into the second half when Roche attempted a shot in the middle of the box but had her shot blocked by an Emerson defender. Roche then followed through with her initial attempt and fired another shot which found the back of the net to give the Lyons a 1-0 lead.
Seven minutes later, the Lyons converted on a corner kick to take a 2-0 advantage. Junior midfielder Julia Sternat (Ellington, Conn.) sent a corner kick to the front-middle of the box and connected with Thomas who scored her first collegiate goal with 34:35 remaining in the game.
After a 2-0 lead, the Lyons defense held Emerson scoreless for the final 35 minutes of regulation to record Wheaton's third shutout victory this season.
Senior defender Yoshiko Slater (Laurel, Md.) recorded a match-high four shot attempts for the Lions and put three of the visitor's five shots on net, but each strike did not pose a serious threat.
Junior goalkeeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) stopped five shots and recorded her fifth shutout this season and her seventh career shutout for Wheaton. Senior goalie Amara Schaub (Redondo Beach, Calif.) tied a season-high seven saves for Emerson.
The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, October 16 when they travel to Worcester, Mass. to take on NEWMAC foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff, while the Lions host conference rival Babson College at the same time.
