CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Senior goalkeeper
Patricia Bandrup's (Poway, Calif.) nine saves were not enough to keep the number eight ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology at bay as the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team suffered a 3-0 loss in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference match on the road in Cambridge, Mass. at Steinbrenner Stadium on Wednesday evening.
With the loss, the Lyons fell back to 7-7 on the season and 3-5 within NEWMAC competition. The Engineers, who are ranked in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll, improved to 15-2 with an unbeaten conference record of 8-0.
The Engineers wasted no time in getting on the board. Graduate student Natalie Barnouw (Los Angeles, Calif.) came up with the ball in the fifth minute, and took the sliver of space she was granted by the Wheaton defense with alacrity. The NCAA Division III Woman of the Year candidate fired a shot from over 30 yards away, slipping the ball just underneath the crossbar and past a leaping Bandrup to put the home team ahead 1-0.
After the early score, Wheaton settled into the game, finding its rhythm with some solid passing and a few decent spells of possession. The Engineers applied significant pressure, forcing Bandrup into four saves over the following 20 minutes after the opening score.
Bandrup kept her team in the game with three more saves before the end of the half, keeping the Engineers' lead at only one goal heading into the break. Junior defender
Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) recorded the only Wheaton shot in the first half, missing wide in the 32nd minute.
The second half, however, would start much like the first. MIT immediately jumped out of the gates, sprinting downfield in hopes of a second goal. They found it after a misplayed goal kick in the 49th minute. Junior forward Madeline Seebeck (San Antonio, Texas) found herself with the ball and plenty of time to shoot, and fired another rocket from distance that glanced off of Bandrup's outstretched hand for a 2-0 MIT lead.
Seebeck made it a third for MIT just minutes later, as she received a crisp thru-ball from junior forward Ayla Sumer (Dallas, Texas) at the top of the attacking third. A quick touch into space and shot into the bottom right corner was enough to beat Bandrup, and the hosts had their third goal.
Wheaton put up a good fight, but was unable to muster a shot on goal as the clock wound down to zero.
The Lyons make their return to Norton, Mass. on Saturday as they get set to host Babson in a weekend NEWMAC match beginning at 1:00 pm. The Engineers keep things in Cambridge and within the conference as they play host to Mount Holyoke College on Saturday at 4:30 pm.
