WELLESLEY, Mass. — Junior attacker Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) (five) and sophomore attacker Riley Kilbourn (Madison, Conn.) (four) combined to net nine goals to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team to a 17-2 victory over host Wellesley College this evening in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference game at Butler Stadium in Wellesley, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 7-4 overall and 4-0 in league play. Wheaton's undefeated start in conference play is its best since winning the first five matches of the NEWMAC slate in 2015. The Blue fall to 2-8 and 0-4.
Wheaton dominated possession, winning 19 of 23 draw controls and held a 31-14 shot advantage. Wheaton was whistled for just four fouls in the match, compared to 21 for the home team. The Lyons forced Wellesley into 30 turnovers and limited the Blue to just 10-20 in clearing attempts.
Kilbourn tallied a career-high seven points, including three assists and added three ground balls for Wheaton, while Finnie won a draw control. Sophomore attacker Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.) registered four points on two goals and two assists to go with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers, while junior attacker Abigail Mountain (Niantic, Conn.) tallied two goals and caused two turnovers. Senior midfielder Avonlea LeBeau (North Branford, Conn.) led all players with 11 draw controls in addition to scoring a goal, picking up a pair of ground balls and causing a turnover. Junior midfielder Gabs Smart (Oakland, Maine) picked up four ground balls and added a goal and an assist as well as a caused turnover. Sophomore goalie Katie Geis (Duxbury, Mass.) recorded six saves for the Lyons.
Sophomore attacker Finley Tipton (Coppell, Texas) scored both goals for Wellesley in addition to a pair of draw controls, three ground balls and a caused turnover. Junior defender Ryan Boone (Scotch Plains, N.J.) led the Blue defense with a game-high five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Sophomore goalie Anna Blake Patrick (Portland, Ore.) stopped four of 15 shots in the first half for the home team, before yielding to junior keeper Cianna Salvatora (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in the second half, who denied two of eight shots.
Wheaton scored the first eight goals of the game – all in the opening quarter. Finnie and Kilbourn each netted three goals in the period.
Tipton put Wellesley on the board with the first marker of the second quarter coming with 9:25 left in the period. Mountain answered for the Lyons, before Tipton scored again for the Blue just 70 seconds later at the 4:22 mark of the quarter to cut the deficit to 9-2.
In a trend that has become the Wheaton defense's calling card, the Lyons did not allow a goal for the final 34:22 of play, while the offense scored eight more goals.
Mountain and Finnie scored a goal each to close out the opening half and provide the visitors an 11-2 advantage. Kilbourn, junior Kiley Sherry (Gorham, Maine) and LeBeau scored the only goals of the third quarter to give Wheaton a commanding 14-2 cushion heading into the final quarter of play.
Senior Ailise Cannon (Kensington, N.H.) began the fourth quarter with her first collegiate marker coming just 89 seconds into the period, before Chamberlin and Finnie scored the final goals of the night to give the Lyons a 15-goal victory.
Wheaton returns to the turf on Saturday, April 6 when it hosts league rival Springfield College on Nordin Field at 1:00 p.m., while Wellesley hosts NEWMAC foe Emerson College at the same time on the same day.
