DUDLEY, Mass. –- Sophomore forward Gia Marotta (Lynnfield, Mass.) and junior forward Kayla Wilonski (Wallingford, Conn.) each potted a pair of goals to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team four unanswered scores in a 4-1 victory over host Nichols College at Vendetti Field this afternoon in Dudley, Mass.
The Lyons improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Bison dip to 1-1.
Wheaton has scored eight markers in its first two games of the season to match its highest output since 2017 when the Lyons also registered eight goals over the first two matches of the slate.
Wheaton dominated possession throughout the contest, owning a 30-10 shot advantage, including 22-4 in the opening half. The Lyons' boasted a 17-6 margin in shots on cage. Wheaton's offense was set up by a 12-2 penalty corner difference for the afternoon.
Wilonski also added an assist to give her a career-high five points for the Lyons, while Marotta recorded the first multi-goal effort of her career. Junior keeper Elise LeBlanc (Hampstead, N.H.) turned away one of two shots that she faced in the first 45 minutes of the match, before yielding to sophomore goalie Molly Braica (New Boston, N.H.), who denied both shots that she saw in the final quarter of action.
Sophomore forward Lily Gibson (Salem, Conn.) scored the lone goal for Nichols, while senior keeper Fallyn Belisle (Chester, Conn.) turned away 10 shots.
The Bison wasted no time in seizing the lead with a goal coming just 58 ticks into the game to take a 1-0 edge. Junior forward Emma Bianculli (East Walpole, Mass.) found Gibson for the score on Nichols' first shot of the contest.
The home team's momentum was short-lived with Wilsonki finding Marotta for the response less than three minutes later. Wheaton senior midfielder Ally Slicer (Waterford, Maine) intercepted a pass in the Bison' defensive zone, before sending the ball to Wilonski on the left side. Wilonski slipped a backhanded cross to Marotta in the left slot for her first marker of the season at the 3:42 mark of the first quarter to pull the visitors even at 1-1.
The Lyons took the lead for good with another goal coming less than five minutes later off a penalty corner situation for a 2-1 margin. Slicer sent a cross into the goal mouth, before hitting the deck, where Marotta gathered the ball and managed to zip a shot past the Nichols' keeper for her second goal of the afternoon with 6:38 left in the quarter.
Wheaton padded its lead with another tally coming with three and a half minutes remaining in the first half. Senior forward Hannah Fortin (South Dartmouth, Mass.) slipped a short cross inside the arc to lead Wilonski, who took the ball and fired a shot into the back of the cage for her second marker of the season and a 3-1 Lyon lead.
Wilonski tacked on an insurance goal for Wheaton with 2:04 showing on the third quarter clock for a 4-1 advantage. Fortin connected with her again after sending a cross to the left side, where Wilonski chopped a backhanded swing that resulted in a high arcing shot over the Bison goalie for the final marker of the day.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, September 8 when they travel to North Dartmouth, Mass. to take on University of Massachusetts Dartmouth at 6:00 p.m. while Nichols heads to Framingham, Mass. to play Framingham State University on the same day at 7:00 p.m.
