NORTON, Mass. — The Clark University (Mass.) women's soccer team netted a goal in each half en-route to a 2-0 victory over host Wheaton College (Mass.) this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Mirrione Stadium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 4-3-2 overall and 1-1-1 in NEWMAC play, while the Cougars have won three of their last four and improve to 5-2 and 1-1 in league play.
Clark controlled the opening half and outshot Wheaton, 11-7, while the Lyons owned a 13-6 shot margin in the second stanza and owned a 20-17 shot difference for the game. Both teams were awarded four corner kicks.
Sophomore back Kory Lloyd (Jamestown, N.C.) and junior forward Georgia Louis (West Hartford, Conn.) each tallied a marker for the Cougars.
Clark cracked the scoring column following 21 minutes of scoreless soccer when junior midfielder Selene Hammad (Franklin, Mass.) sent a cross to the top of the box, where Lloyd collected the ball, made a move and uncorked a shot that sailed into the back of the right corner of the net for her third tally of the season. The goal came with 23:16 to go in the half to give the visitors a 1-0 edge.
The Lyons threatened to tie the match in the 30th minute when sophomore forward Camila Leiva (Warwick, R.I.) carried the ball into the goal mouth and fired a left-footed shot from the left slot ticketed for the far right corner, but senior starting keeper Ava Lepro (Guilford, Conn.) laid out with a diving stop to keep the ball out of the net for the Cougars. Sophomore back Kaydie O'Neil (Sturbridge, Mass.) was crashing the net on the play and was there for the rebound, but first year defender Mia Thomas (Hamden, Conn.) was there to boot the ball away and keep the shutout intact for Clark.
The Cougars added an insurance goal in the 63rd minute to take a 2-0 lead. Louis controlled the ball at the top of the box, made a move to her left, before unleashing a high left-footed shot out of the reach of the Wheaton keeper for her team-leading sixth marker with 27:38 remaining in the contest.
The Lyons made another bid to get on the board in the 77th minute when Leiva lifted a shot headed for the upper right corner, but it clanged off the crossbar and right post with 13:44 to go in the contest. Wheaton looked to score again less than 10 minutes later when sophomore forward Karina Contreras (Pawtucket, R.I.) unleashed a shot toward the left post, but senior goalie Gabrielle Huryn (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) made the diving stop to her right to keep the home team off the board with 3:58 showing on the second half clock.
Lepro stopped all three shots she faced in the first half, before Huryn turned away all six shots she saw to combine on the blank sheet for Clark. Sophomore netminder Olivia King (Simsbury, Conn.) made six saves for the Lyons. Contreras (six) and Leiva (five) combined for 11 shots to lead the Blue and White's offensive effort.
Wheaton returns to the pitch when it heads to South Hadley, Mass. to play conference foe Mount Holyoke College on Saturday, October 3 at 1:00 p.m., while the Cougars travel to Boston, Mass. to take on NEWMAC rival Emerson College on the same day and time.
