GORHAM, Maine -- Senior captain
Hannah Fortin (South Dartmouth, Mass.) scored the lone goal for Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey as the Lyons were topped by the University of Southern Maine 3-1 in Saturday's game in Maine.
Wheaton suffered only their first loss of the season to fall to 3-1 on the season, while the Huskies improved to 3-1 with the win.
Fortin was the lone scorer for Wheaton in the contest, but three of her teammates would outshoot her after all was said and done. Seniors
Ally Slicer (Waterford, Maine) and
Maria Worden (Burlington, Vt.) combined with junior
Kelsey Thompson (North Attleboro, Mass.) for two shots on goal each. Junior
Kayla Wilonski (Wallingford, Conn.) also had a shot on goal while senior goalkeeper
Grace Ferguson (Williston, Vt.) finished with 11 saves on three goals allowed.
Senior Dylan Barr (Phippsburg, Maine) did the lion's share of the offensive work for the Huskies as she finished with three shots on goal and one goal. Sophomore Maddie Niles (Benton, Maine) had a goal on two shots on target, while fellow sophomore Mackenzie Hall (Westbrook, Maine) scored on her only shot in the contest. First year goalkeeper Haylee Romasco (Newport, Maine) had seven saves on just one goal allowed.
Saturday's game started out slowly as each team adjusted to the early start time. After five minutes of momentum-building, the Huskies began to pressure the Lyons' defense. Ferguson was forced to make two saves within 30 seconds of each other after Wheaton failed to clear their lines. The dam broke after the second save, which was rebounded by Barr into the back of the net to start the scoring. The Lyons were able to push the ball downfield after the early strike from Southern Maine, but their resulting penalty corner failed to yield a goal. Slicer forced Romasco to make one save in the opening quarter, but the frame concluded with that shot as Wheaton's only chance in the opening 15 minutes.
Ferguson was called into action early on in the second quarter. The Lyons' fearless net protector denied Niles a chance in front of goal, and sprawled out in front of the goal to make a save on the ensuing penalty corner. After the early flurry, the second quarter calmed down. Neither team recorded a shot for the remaining nine minutes, and the scoreline held at 1-0 for the Huskies at halftime.
After the halftime break, Southern Maine found their footing once again and immediately applied pressure to the Lyons. They were able to hang on, largely thanks to another pair of saves from Ferguson, but again the second save was scooped up by the Huskies and scored by Niles, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead. Wheaton was clearly undeterred by their largest deficit of the young fall season, and continued to transition up the field well. The Huskies answered with great work on defense, and they denied the Lyons any chances. The hosts managed to make it a third off of a rebound again, this time as Hall finished the chance that was initially saved by Ferguson. Less than a minute later, Wheaton was awarded a penalty stroke, but Wilonski found the post instead of the back of the net. Fortin was able to improve Wheaton's fortune with an unassisted goal late in the third quarter, but the Lyons were unable to add to their scoreline despite two more shots on goal down the stretch.
Trailing 3-1 into the fourth quarter, the Lyons needed to execute better than they had throughout the game in order to get back into the contest. The Huskies were keenly aware of this fact, and tightened up their stance on defense. Wheaton failed to record a shot in the first nine minutes of the final frame despite their strong transition game. Southern Maine had every answer to Wheaton's attempts at attacking, and Romasco was able to stop the two shots that trickled towards the target. Wilonski picked up a green card in the final 90 seconds of the game, and Wheaton found themselves without momentum. The Lyons fell to the Huskies 3-1 for their first loss of the season.
Wheaton will return to Nordin Field on Tuesday as the Lyons host Endicott at 7:00 pm. Southern Maine will also play on Tuesday as they come down to the Commonwealth for a game at Wellesley at 6:00 pm.
