WORCESTER, Mass. – Three different players scored in a 3-0 victory for the Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team over host Worcester State University this evening on Coughlin Field in Worcester, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Lancers fall to 0-2.
Wheaton made the most of five shots, scoring one goal each in three different periods. Worcester State held a one-shot edge with six for the match. The Lyons owned a 5-3 margin in penalty corners.
Junior forward Ally Slicer (Waterford, Maine) prevented a scoreless opening quarter with her first marker of the year with just seven ticks left in the first period. Slicer scored on a penalty stroke when she wasted no time off the whistle to begin the play, lifting a shot past the Lancer keeper and into the right corner of the cage for a 1-0 Wheaton edge.
The Lyons doubled their advantage at 2-0 with a goal coming off a penalty corner midway through the second quarter. Sophomore forward Ava Audette (Essex Junction, Vt.) sent the insert pass to the top of the arc, where classmate Kayla Wilonski (Wallingford, Conn.) made a move to her left, before taking a step to her right and winding up with a rocket shot that zipped into the right side of the cage with 7:29 remaining in the period.
Wheaton added an insurance tally just 37 seconds into the final quarter of play to take a 3-0 lead. Senior defender Rebecca Berman (Avon, Conn.) played the ball down the right side line to senior forward Riley Levrault (Lakeville, Mass.), who sent a centering cross to junior forward Hannah Fortin (South Dartmouth, Mass.) for a one-timer in front of the cage and her first goal of the year.
Worcester State's first best opportunity to score came last in the second quarter on a penalty corner. Senior midfielder Charlotte MacGregor (Bellingham, Mass.) fired a shot headed for the left corner, but Lyon junior keeper Grace Ferguson (Williston, Vt.) made a diving stop to her right to keep the home team off the board. The Lancers looked to crack the scoring column again, midway through the fourth quarter, but first year forward Abby Matta's (West Bridgewater, Mass.) try was snuffed out by Ferguson at the right post of the cage.
Ferguson finished the match with three saves to record her fifth career shutout for Wheaton. Sophomore goalie Lizzy MacDonald (Medford, Mass.) did not record a stop in three shots that she faced for Worcester State.
The Lyons return to action on Saturday, September 6 when they host Nichols College to open the home slate on Nordin Field at 12:00 p.m., while the Lancers travel to Keene, N.H. to play Keene State College on the same day at 11:00 a.m.
