NORTON, Mass. -- Sophomore forward
Karina Contreras (Pawtucket, R.I.) used every inch of her height to rise above the United States Coast Guard Academy as she headed home the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's soccer team's game-winning goal en route to a 1-0 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference victory on Wednesday afternoon at Mirrione Stadium.
Wheaton improved to 10-4-2 overall and 7-2-1 in the NEWMAC following the win. Coast Guard fell to 2-8-6 overall and remained in search of their first NEWMAC win at 0-6-4 following the loss.
Contreras had the lone goal in the contest for Wheaton and sophomore
Camila Leiva (Warwick, R.I.) picked up the assist with a beautiful cross. Wheaton's defense, centered by first year
Alarice Luwaga (North Providence, R.I) and junior
Maile Chargualaf (Broomfield, Colo.) limited Coast Guard to only three shots on goal. All three were stopped with ease by sophomore goalkeeper
Olivia King (Simsbury, Conn.). Wheaton finished with 22 total shot attempts to Coast Guard's seven.
Senior goalkeeper Julia Little (Pensacola, Fla.) made six saves throughout the 90 minutes as the Lyons peppered her cage. Junior Ella Pottle (Epping, N.H.) led her side with three shots but failed to land any on target. Sophomore Kaela Hoss (Old Lyme, Conn.) had a late shot on goal, but the chance was swallowed up by the Wheaton defense.
Wheaton was in control of the tempo and possession from the first whistle of the game. Leiva and Contreras applied pressure early with deep runs behind the Coast Guard defense. Luwaga and Chargualaf held a high line at midfield to hem the Bears into their own half which allowed Wheaton to continue their search for the first goal. Contreras left the crossbar shaking after a point-blank shot was deflected upwards by Little, and a casual observer could clearly tell Wheaton was nearing a goal.
The Lyons had a pair of shots go wide by a hair before they finally converted one of their chances. This time Leiva led the Lyons down the right wing before a lofted cross sailed over the defense to an eagerly awaiting Contreras on the back post. Contreras rose above the crowd and got her head to the ball. A flick-on finish buried the ball into the bottom-left corner, and Wheaton had their breakthrough.
The scoreline held through halftime, and Wheaton resumed their stranglehold over the match right away in the second frame. The Bears were better equipped to handle the pressure in the second half as they limited the Lyons to seven shots and one corner kick. The Bears were able to force the Lyons offside four separate times in the second half, which reduced the potency of their attack considerably. Wheaton was still able to finesse their way into attacking areas of the pitch and were able to force Little into two quick saves in the 82nd minute, but the Lyons failed to put another goal into the net. Coast Guard had a late chance during the final 20 seconds of play and nearly equalized, but King closed off the angle and secured the rebound to keep the Bears at bay.
Wheaton took a 1-0 win after the late chance for Coast Guard as they claimed victory for the 10th time in 2026. They will play their final game of the regular season at home versus Salve Regina on Saturday at 1:00 pm with a second-place position in the NEWMAC standings on the line. Coast Guard will wrap up their season on the road at Smith on Saturday at 3:00 pm.
