NEW LONDON, Conn. — Senior forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) netted the only goal of the match to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team a 1-0 win over host United States Coast Guard Academy this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Nelson W. Nitchman Field in New London, Conn.
The Lyons post their second straight 1-0 NEWMAC victory and improve to 9-7 overall and 5-5 in league play, while the Bears fall to 4-11-3 and 3-6-1. The triumph clinches a berth in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament for Wheaton.
Coast Guard was extremely active with an 18-7 shot advantage, but the quality of shots was vastly different with the Bears holding just a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. Coast Guard was awarded six of seven corner kicks in the match.
Lyon senior keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) stopped all four shots she faced to register her fifth shutout of the season and 14th of her career. The goalie win is the 25th in Bandrup's tenure in Norton to tie her with Ali Hinton '16 for seventh in program history.
Wheaton's winning marker came less than 10 minutes into the contest.
First year midfielder Kate Rafferty (Westerly, R.I.) sent a cross to Wickenheisser on the right sideline, before the senior lifted a shot that sailed over the Bears' keeper and into the far left corner of the net for her seventh goal of the season. The score came with 35:05 remaining in the opening half for the Lyons.
Coast Guard's best opportunity to score came in the 36th minute, but Bandrup was up to the task. Sophomore midfielder Ella Pottle (Epping, N.H.) found herself in the middle of the box, before firing a low shot headed for the right side of the net, but Bandrup made a diving stop to her left to keep the home team off the board.
Pottle paced the Bears' offense with five shots, including two on net, while junior keeper Julia Little (Pensacola, Fla.) made a pair of saves for Coast Guard.
Wheaton returns to action when it travels to Newport, R.I. to take on NEWMAC rival Salve Regina University in the regular-season finale on Saturday, November 1 at 12:00 p.m., while the Bears host league foe Smith College on the same day at 3:00 p.m.
