BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team was nipped by host University of New England, 1-0, this afternoon at Blue Bolt Field in Biddeford, Maine.
The Lyons dip to 7-6, while the Nor'Easters improve to 9-5.
UNE dominated possession with a 15-1 shot advantage and held a wide 12-2 margin in penalty corners. Despite the shot disparity, Wheaton attempted the only shot of the opening quarter, before the Nor'Easters took all five shots in the second, eight in the third and two in the fourth quarters.
University of New England applied pressure to the Lyon defense, which weathered eight previous shots, including three on cage and one off the post, with three straight penalty corners in a span of 2:30 late in the third quarter. The Nor'Easters finally broke through off a penalty corner to take a 1-0 edge with 3:29 to play in the period. Junior forward Kate Kelso (Skowhegan, Maine) sent the insert pass to senior defender Makena Valentine (Hatfield, Mass.), who found fellow backfield mate and senior Shelly Tremblay (Barre, Mass.) for her fourth goal of the season and the afternoon's lone marker.
Sophomore forward Kayla Wilonski (Wallingford, Conn.) registered Wheaton's only shot, while junior keeper Grace Ferguson (Williston, Vt.) was outstanding with seven saves. The goalie's shutout streak came to an end at 235:36 minutes, giving up her first goal in the month of October and her first since a score by Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Nordin Field on September 30. Her scoreless streak is the longest by a Lyon netminder in school history.
Sophomore goalie Greta Jennison (Bristol, Vt.) was untested between the pipes to record her first career blank sheet for University of New England.
Wheaton returns to play on Saturday, October 18 when it hosts New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference foe Massachusetts Institute of Technology at Nordin Field for a Noon start, while the Nor'Easters host No. 5 Bates College on October 15 at 6:00 p.m.
