NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team was defeated by visiting Roger Williams University, 18-3, this evening at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons fall to 1-2 on the season, while the Hawks, who received votes in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association preseason poll, improve to 1-0 following their season opener.
It was the third consecutive game that a Wheaton opponent was playing in its season opener.
Roger Williams was extremely efficient in the match, needing just 27 shots to account for its goal total, while the Lyons fired 22 shots. The Hawks' defense allowed single goals in the first, third and fourth quarters, while holding Wheaton without a goal in the second quarter. RWU was successful on 15 of its 20 clearing attempts and Wheaton was 8-15 on its tries. Roger Williams was nearly automatic on their free position opportunities as well, connecting on four of five of its attempts.
Senior midfielder Avonlea LeBeau (North Branford, Conn.) scored a pair of goals and won four draw controls for the Lyons, while junior attacker Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) netted a goal and added a ground ball. Junior midfielder Sophie Gromala (Killingworth, Conn.) and sophomore attacker Riley Kilbourn (Madison, Conn.) each notched an assist and senior defender Kendall Conwell (Weston, Fla.) chipped in with two draw controls, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Geis (Duxbury, Mass.) registered four saves.
Junior midfielder Kimmy Creegan (Ramsey, N.J.) netted a career-high six goals to lead the Hawks and added six ground balls, two caused turnovers and came up with three draw controls. She was joined by a pair of teammates with six points on the night. Junior attacker Mia Pantano (Reading, Mass.) tallied three goals and added three assists to go with a caused turnover, while senior attacker Julia Kelley (Foxborough, Mass.) directed Roger Williams' offense from behind the net and doled out four assists in addition to scoring a pair of goals. She added three ground balls as well. Junior middie Emma Terino (East Meadow, N.Y.) netted a hat trick to go with an assist, six draw controls and a pair of ground balls and senior attacker Karli Chapin (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) racked up four points, including two goals and added three draw controls and a caused turnover. Junior midfielder Ella Waryas (Foxboro, Mass.) contributed with six ground balls and an assist. Junior goalie Zoey Cormican (Rochester, N.H.) was outstanding for the visitors, stopping 12 of 15 shots, including all four free position tries by the home team.
Creegan tallied the first marker of the match with 12:55 left in the opening quarter, before Terino increased the Hawks' lead to 2-0 with a goal coming 90 seconds later. Finnie put Wheaton on the board with 5:42 to go in the first quarter to cut the deficit in half at 2-1.
Roger Williams tallied the next 10 goals, while holding the Lyons scoreless for the next 27:37 of play. Creegan, Terino, Pantano and Kelley each found the back of the net twice during the stretch that ultimately determined the contest, while first year midfielder Allie Shamberger (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) recorded her first collegiate goal.
The Lyons broke the string with their second marker of the evening with 8:05 remaining in the third quarter when LeBeau scored on a feed from Kilbourn to make it 12-2.
The Hawks ripped off six straight goals to take an 18-2 advantage, including a trio of scores from Creegan and the first collegiate score from first year midfielder Miranda Hayes (South Burlington, Vt.). LeBeau netted the game's final goal for Wheaton when Gromala found her in front of the net as time expired in the match.
Roger Williams returns to action on Saturday, March 2 when it heads to Springfield, Mass. to take on Springfield College at 12:00 p.m., while the Lyons travel to Brighton, Mass. to play Simmons University on Daly Field at 1:00 p.m.
