NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team held off visiting Roger Williams University for a 3-2 victory this afternoon at Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons win their third straight to improve to 4-1 on the season, while the Hawks dip to 3-1-2.
Roger Williams held a 16-15 edge in shots, including 10-9 in shots on frame. The Hawks also owned a 3-1 margin in corner kicks.
Wheaton never trailed in the game and owned a 3-1 lead, before Roger Williams scored with 3:44 left in the match to pull within a score.
Senior forward Kate Wickenheisser (Oxford, Conn.) tallied three points with a goal and an assist, while first year forward Karina Contreras (Pawtucket, R.I.) and senior forward Ali Roche (Maynard, Mass.) also found the back of the net for the Lyons. Senior keeper Patricia Bandrup (Poway, Calif.) made eight saves for the home team.
Junior forward Mya D'Antonio (Marshfield, Mass.) netted both goals for the Hawks. Senior goalie Coco Marrelli (Fairfield, Conn.) turned back six shots for Roger Williams.
Wheaton's first score came off an outstanding anticipation step from first year back Kaydie O'Neil (Sturbridge, Mass.), who read the Hawks' defense and rushed from midfield to intercept a cross, resulting in a takeaway. She found Wickenheisser on the right side of the box, who stepped in and lifted a shot into the far upper left corner for her third marker of the season in the 11th minute of play for a 1-0 edge. The assist was the first collegiate point for O'Neil.
Roger Williams was able to knot the contest at 1-1 with less than 10 minutes to play in the first session. D'Antonio methodically carried the ball into the Lyons' defense inside the box and slipped a shot past the Wheaton keeper and into the far left corner of the net for the equalizer with 8:44 remaining in the first half.
Wheaton wasted no time in reclaiming the lead in the second half, needing just 2:12 to take a 2-1 margin. Wickenheisser served a left-footed cross from just outside the top right corner of the box to the goalmouth, where Contreras was able to rush the net and connect with a header for a shot over the Hawks' netminder for the rookie's fourth marker of the year.
Roche provided what proved to be a critical insurance goal for the Lyons in the 63rd minute of play to give the home team a 3-1 advantage. Roche collected the ball outside of the box on the left side, before carrying into the box, where she snuck a shot just out of the reach of the Roger Williams keeper and into the far right corner of the net for her third goal of the season.
The Hawks took advantage of a chaotic sequence with less than four minutes to play in the contest to pull within a goal of Wheaton to make it 3-2. Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Alagno (Oxford, Conn.) sent a cross from the left side to the right slot, where the Lyon keeper got turned around, but first year midfielder Ava Villella's (Franklin, Mass.) shot was miraculously stopped by Bandrup. D'Antonio was there for the rebound and flicked a shot into the upper half of the net, before Bandrup could recover. The goal was her fourth goal of the season with 3:44 showing on the second half clock.
Roger Williams looked to pull even in the closing seconds when junior back Sarah Fogarty (Scituate, Mass.) fired a shot, but it was blocked, before she played the ball back to senior forward Eryn Parlin (New Sharon, Maine). Parlin then unleashed a shot from 25 yards out that went off Bandrup's gloves and off the cross bar with 43 seconds to go, before popping up into the air and settling into Bandrup's waiting arms to avoid the scare from the visitors.
Wheaton returns to play on Saturday, September 20 when it heads to Boston, Mass. to take on Emerson College for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff to open the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference slate, while the Hawks travel to Providence, R.I. to play Johnson & Wales University on the same day at 4:00 p.m.
