NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team was defeated by visiting Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 21-3, this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 8-8 overall and 5-5 in NEWMAC play, while the Engineers improve to 10-7 and 9-1 in the regular-season finale for both squads.
Wheaton earned the sixth seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship Tournament and will travel to Springfield, Mass. to play number three seed Springfield College on Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m., while MIT earns the number two seed and will host seventh-seeded Salve Regina University on the same day at the same time.
The Engineers dominated possession with a 46-22 shot advantage, including 18-1 in the opening quarter and 10-3 in the fourth period. MIT converted 17 of 18 clearing attempts, while holding the Lyons to a 10-16 success rate. The Engineers also won 18 of 26 draws.
Juniors Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.), Sara Spielman (Norwalk, Conn.) and first year Claudia Shoemaker (Woodstock, Vt.) all netted a goal and picked up a ground ball each for Wheaton. Senior midfielder Kilee Sherry (Gorham, Maine) contributed with four ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers and senior midfielder Gabs Smart (Oakland, Maine) won five draw controls. Junior goalie Katie Geis (Duxbury, Mass.) stopped five of 11 shots in the opening quarter, before sophomore netminder Jenna Langan (Lincoln, R.I.) turned away two of six shots in the second quarter. First year keeper Averie Walton (Cumberland, R.I.) turned back four of 15 shots in the second half.
Senior midfielder Sydney Pyon (Garnet Valley, Pa.) (5-0-1) and junior attacker Ashley Thomas (Summit, N.J.) (4-3-7) combined for nine goals and 13 points to lead the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPyon added three ground balls, while Thomas tacked on a pair of ground balls for MIT. Junior midfielder Annica Lam (Livingston, N.J.) netted four goals to go with an assist, four ground balls, a caused turnover and a draw control and junior midfielder Gwen Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) tallied four goals, picked up a game-high seven ground balls and won five draw controls. Senior attack Julianne Flusche (Ridgewood, N.J.) contributed with two goals, two assists, six ground balls and six draw controls. Sophomore goalie Pauline Vien (Brookline, Mass.) turned away four of seven shots in the first half, before yielding to sophomore keeper Christina Fradella (Massapequa, N.Y.) for a second half that saw her deny all four shots that she faced.
The Engineers scored all six goals in the first quarter and the first three markers of the second quarter to open the game with a 9-0 advantage. Gwen Flusche led the opening outburst with a trio of goals. The Lyons roared back to seize the momentum with three straight goals, beginning with a score from Chamberlin on a feed from Smart at the 5:33 mark, before junior attacker Bridget McDwyer (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) found Shoemaker with a player advantage goal just 46 seconds later. Spielman found the back of the net on a helper from senior attack Sophie Gromala (Killingworth, Conn.) with just 1:59 left on the second quarter clock. The string of Wheaton goals cut the deficit to 9-3 to force a timeout, but Pyon scored 43 seconds after the timeout to give MIT a 10-3 advantage heading into the break. The Lyons out-shot their guests, 10-6, in the quarter.
The Engineers scored all 11 goals in the second half to close the game with 12 straight markers. Pyon and Thomas each connected for three goals apiece in the final half.
