NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team boasted four players with three or more goals in an 18-5 rout over visiting Wellesley College this evening in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference match at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons win their seventh straight game for the ninth-longest current streak in the nation and the longest at Wheaton since 2015. The Lyons improve to 7-3 overall and a perfect 4-0 in NEWMAC Play. Wheaton has scored 54 goals in its last three contests. The Blue fall to 1-8 and 0-4.
The Lyons needed just 29 shots to supply their goal total, while limiting Wellesley to just 13 attempts. Wheaton also held a 25-16 advantage in ground balls.
The Lyons scored the first 13 goals of the game – all in the first half, while holding the Blue without a score through the first 34:22 of play.
Wheaton first year midfielder Emma-Jane Parsons (Oakland, Maine) netted three goals and added an assist to go with three ground balls and a draw control, while senior middie Gabs Smart (Oakland, Maine) matched her fellow citizen with three goals and an assist in addition to two ground balls, a pair of draw controls and two caused turnovers. Junior midfielder Sara Spielman (Norwalk, Conn.) and sophomore attacker Georgia Qua (Suffield, Conn.) each tallied a trio of goals. Senior attacker Lara Finnie (Westfield, Mass.) and junior attacker Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.) each tallied four points with a goal and an assist. Finnie added four draw controls and Chamberlin won a pair of draw controls and picked up two ground balls. Senior midfielder Kilee Sherry (Gorham, Maine) also contributed with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. First year starting goalie Avery Walton (Cumberland, R.I.) made three saves and did not allow a goal in the first 30 minutes of action, before yielding to sophomore keeper Jenna Langan (Lincoln, R.I.), who turned away one of five shots in the third quarter. Junior Katie Geis (Duxbury, Mass.), stopped two of three shots in the fourth quarter.
Junior midfielder Finley Tipton (Coppell, Texas) led the Wellesley offense with a pair of goals in addition to a pair of ground balls and two draw controls. Sophomore midfielder Amelia Dupont (New York, N.Y.) scored a goal and assisted on another and sophomore midfielder Katie McCabe (Jupiter, Fla.) contributed with a goal, a ground ball and a game-high five draw controls. Junior starting goalie Anna Blake Patrick (Portland, Ore.) denied three of 11 shots in the first 9:14 of action, before first year goalie Aspen Caudill (Louisville, Ky.) stopped five of 15 shots in the final 50:46 of play.
Wheaton scored all 13 goals of the first half, including the first 10 in a span of 10:31. Smart and Qua led the charge with three markers apiece, while Spielman and Parsons each netted a pair of goals.
Tipton ended the Blue's scoring drought with a goal coming at the 10:38 mark of the third quarter. Parsons countered less than two minutes later for the Lyons, but Wellesley scored three of the next four goals to end the quarter. Tipton, sophomore attacker Mallory Kennison (Norway, Maine) and Dupont all scored during the seven-plus minute stretch for the Blue. Sophomore attacker Annemeike Buterbaugh (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) tallied a marker for Wheaton.
The Lyons capped the game with three of the four goals in the final quarter of play. Senior attacker Megan Cuddy (Natick, Mass.), sophomore attack Katie Prinn (Manchester, Mass.) and Spielman all found the back of the net for Wheaton. For Prinn, it was her first collegiate goal. McCabe scored the lone goal for the visitors in the quarter.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, April 5 when they travel to Springfield, Mass. to take on NEWMAC rival Springfield College at 1:00 p.m., while Wellesley heads to Boston, Mass. to play Emerson College on the same day at 7:00 p.m.
