WELLESLEY, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team was defeated by host Wellesley College, 3-0, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Wellesley Soccer Field in Wellesley, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 6-5 overall and 2-3 in league play, while the Blue extend their unbeaten streak to three and improve to 6-4-2 and 3-1-1.
Wellesley owned a 27-16 shot advantage, including 16-9 in shots on net. Wheaton was awarded all four corner kicks in the game.
Three different players scored – all off rebound shots – for the Blue, who got on the board in the eighth minute of the contest.
Sophomore forward Isabella Tolosa (Santa Clara, Calif.) fired a shot into the chest of a Lyon defender, but the rebound fell at the feet of senior midfielder Reika Ishibe (Guilford, Conn.), who converted the rebound shot into the left corner of the net to give the home team a 1-0 lead just 7:59 into the match.
The marker was the only score of the half as Wellesley took a 1-0 edge into the intermission.
The Blue didn't waste any time to double their lead in the second half, scoring just 3:44 into the new stanza. Wellesley took advantage of another rebound shot to score its second goal and take a 2-0 lead in the 49th minute of action. Senior midfielder Elina Saab-Sundén (Palo Alto, Calif.) didn't get much on a left-footed shot, as she lost her footing in front of the goal line and Wheaton senior keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) made the stop. First year forward Elena Garcia (Atlanta, Ga.) was there for the rebound strike for her fourth goal of the season.
Sophomore forward Solveig Unteroberdoerster (Washington, D.C.) ran onto a thru-ball, on the right side, and headed to the top of the box, before taking a shot for the Blue, but Bandrup met her for the denial. Bandrup tried to get back on her line, but was too far out of the net, rendering her unable to recover, before Unteroberdoerster lifted a shot over her head and into the back of the net. The insurance marker was her third of the year and gave Wellesley a 3-0 lead with 17:50 remaining in the contest.
The Lyons threatened to get on the board early in the opening half, when first year forward Katrina Contreras (Pawtucket, R.I.) collected a long cross in the box and dribbled to her right before firing a shot that was turned back with a diving stop from Blue senior keeper Riley McNair (Cupertino, Calif.) in the sixth minute of play. Wheaton looked to crack the scoring column in the second half as well. Junior forward Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) lifted a shot toward the upper right corner of the net, but McNair got up in the air to knock the try away in the 67th minute. Thomas chipped another shot over the Wellesley keeper, just 40 seconds later, but the ball caught too much of the cross bar to keep the visitors off the board.
Thomas led the Lyons' offense with four shots on the day. Bandrup finished with 13 saves for Wheaton to give her 445 for her career to move past Lynn Yenush '92 and into second on the Lyons' all-time list for keeper saves. McNair turned away nine shots to record her fifth shutout of the season and the ninth of her career for the Blue.
Wheaton returns to the pitch on Wednesday, October 15 when it hosts Springfield College at Mirrione Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff, while Wellesley travels to Worcester, Mass. to play Worcester Polytechnic Institute on the same day at 6:00 p.m.
