NORTON, Mass. – The Wheaton College (Mass.) women's lacrosse team fell to visiting Springfield College, 19-9, this afternoon in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference opener at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus.
The Lyons fall to 4-2 overall and 0-1 in league play, while the Pride improve to 2-3 and 1-0.
Springfield dominated possession, owning a 47-17 shot advantage and holding Wheaton to five or fewer shots in three different quarters. The Lyons struggled to move into a consistent offensive set, converting just 13 of 21 clear attempts. The Pride also won 24 of 30 draw controls during the match.
Sophomore midfielder Alexis Antonellis (Lyme, Conn.) led Wheaton with four points, including three goals and added a ground ball, while senior attacker Jessica Chamberlin (Bow, N.H.) netted a goal and added a pair of assists to go with a pair of ground balls and a caused turnover. Senior attacker Natalie Bilodeau (Scarborough, Maine) netted a season-high two goals and picked up a ground ball. Junior goalie Jenna Langan (Lincoln, R.I.) turned away 16 of 31 shots in 52:53 of play, while senior keeper Katie Geis (Duxbury, Mass.) stopped one of four shots in 7:07 of relief for the Lyons.
Junior midfielder Izzy Lalancette (Feeding Hills, Mass.) led all scorers with a career-high seven goals for Springfield in addition to a game-high five ground balls and three caused turnovers. Junior attacker Kristyn Vasselin (Hudson, Mass.) contributed with two goals, an assist, a ground ball and a pair of caused turnovers and senior midfielder Liz Neri (Farmington, Conn.) also picked up three points with two goals and an assist and added a pair of ground balls and two caused turnovers. Sophomore midfielder Payton Imhof (Bay Shore, N.Y.) scored twice and added an assist, two ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore goalie Lindsay Hillemeir (Unionville, Conn.) made three saves for the Pride.
Springfield scored the first six goals of the afternoon, while holding Wheaton without a goal in the opening quarter. Six different players scored for the Pride, including sophomore attacker Claire Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.), who found the back of the net just 15 seconds into the second quarter to give the visitors a six-goal advantage. Senior midfielder Sara Spielman (Norwalk, Conn.) put the Lyons on the board at the 8:47 mark of the second quarter to cut the deficit to 6-1. The Pride scored the next three markers, including a goal from junior attacker Kristyn Vasselin (Hudson, Mass.) to increase Springfield's cushion to 9-1 with 1:52 showing on the second quarter clock. Antonellis found Chamberlin for Wheaton's second score of the opening half just 48 seconds later to pull the home team within 9-2. Lalancetted snuck a marker in just before the final horn sounded to set the Pride's lead at 10-2 at the intermission.
The Lyons opened the third quarter by scoring four of the first five goals of the new half. Junior attacker Georgia Qua (Suffield, Conn.) took a feed from Chamberlin and found the back of the net to slice the difference to 11-6 with 6:20 to go in the third quarter for Wheaton. Neri and Lalancette combined for back-to-back goals to trade with Antonellis and Bilodeau, who netted consecutive markers for the Lyons to close out the quarter with Springfield holding a 13-8 advantage.
The Pride dominated the fourth quarter to leave no doubt of the final result, outscoring their host, 6-1, in the period, paced by Lalancette and Imhof with two goals apiece. Antonellis tallied the lone goal for Wheaton in the quarter.
The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, March 18 when they travel to Boston, Mass. to take on Emmanuel College (Mass.) at 7:00 p.m., while Springfield plays Farmingdale State on the same night in Clearwater, Fla. at 6:00 p.m.
