NORTON, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to six straight games following a 0-0 tie with visiting Union College this afternoon at Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 4-0-2 on the season and are unbeaten through their first six contests for the first time since winning the first eight matches of the 2016 campaign. The Garnet Chargers are now 3-1-2 for the season.
Wheaton posted its second straight 0-0 effort following the same result against Bridgewater State University on September 12 in Bridgewater.
The Lyons owned an 8-6 shot advantage, including 5-1 in the second half. Union was awarded three corner kicks, while Wheaton was the recipient of two.
The Garnet Chargers threatened to break into the scoring column when senior forward Sam Friedman (Brookline, Mass.) carried the ball into the box in the 17th minute, before Lyon junior keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) came off her line to nullify the attempt. The shot trickled past Brandrup to Union sophomore forward Taylor Bovardi (Boxford, Mass.), who fired a shot in front of the net, but Wheaton sophomore defender Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) raced to the front of the goalmouth, turned and was able to block the try with her right leg to keep the ball out of the net. Friedman collected the rebound off the shot, but her second strike was wide left of the frame to keep it a scoreless tie.
The Lyons had a chance of their own to put a goal on the board with just over two minutes left in the opening half, when junior midfielder Ali Roche (Maynard, Mass.) lifted a shot from beyond the box, but junior starting keeper Rachel Berliner (Westwood, Mass.) lept to punch the ball and keep it out of the net for the Garnet Chargers to keep the match devoid of a goal.
Wheaton looked to break into the scoring column again, less than three minutes into the second stanza, when sophomore forward Mackenna Reynolds (Longmeadow, Mass.) was able to corral a loose ball and take it into the goalmouth, but she was met by a pair of Union defenders and the new keeper Maya Koster (Farmington, Conn.) to thwart the scoring chance.
The Lyons kept the pressure on the Garnet Charger defense with junior midfielder Julia Sternat (Ellington, Conn.) taking the ball into the right side of the box in the 52nd minute, but Koster came off her line to meet her before she could get a quality shot off. Wheaton wasted no time with another scoring opportunity just 91 seconds later when Sternat served a corner kick into the box, where first year forward Reilly Hickey (Medford, Mass.) got up for a header, but her shot went over the crossbar to keep it a 0-0 match.
The Lyons had one last chance to come away with a victory with just 67 seconds left in the game, when senior forward Lily Brown (Warwick, R.I.) fired a shot from the top of the box that hit the left post to keep the blank sheet intact for both teams.
Bandrup stopped three shots to record her fourth shutout of the season for Wheaton and the sixth of her career, while Berliner turned away all three shots she faced in the opening half and Koster recorded a save in the second half for Garnet Chargers.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, September 21 when they travel to Babson Park, Mass. to take on Babson College in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference opener at 2:00 p.m., while Union hosts Ramapo College of New Jersey on the same day at 12:00 p.m.
