Lyons begin NEWMAC play with hard-fought 10-9 loss at Springfield

March 29, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, MA- The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team held a lead for much of Saturday afternoon's game at Springfield College, but the Pride scored three of the contest's final four goals to overtake the Lyons, 10-9 in each team's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener at Stagg Field.

In a slow-moving start to the opening half, the squads were tied at one through over 16 minutes of play before senior Meredith Hurd (Bath, ME/Hyde School) twice scored to give the Lyons a 3-1 edge with 8:01 to go before halftime. The Pride answered with two tallies just 1:48 apart, but Wheaton responded with the stanza's final two scores, as junior Caitlin Grant (Walpole, MA/Walpole) connected on her second goal of the game at 2:08 and senior Sara Dimick (Cumberland, ME/Greely) posted an unassisted tally with 41 ticks on the clock.

Springfield began the second half with a flurry of goals, scoring three times in 3:04 to capture its first lead of the game. However, Hurd converted a pass from junior Bridget Thornton (Southington, CT/Cheshire Academy) for the second of four ties during a 16:03 span, with the latter coming at eight-all with 11:16 remaining. The Pride capped a 3-0 run at the five-minute mark in taking a 10-8 lead. Junior Madeline Williams (Annapolis, MD/Key School) brought Wheaton to within one at 3:29, but the Lyons, who held a 39-25 advantage in shots, were unable to find the equalizer to force overtime.

Hurd's hat trick moved her into a tie for sixth on Wheaton's all-time scoring list, while Dimick and Grant finished with two tallies each. Sophomore Brittany King (Georgetown, MA/Proctor Academy) added a goal and an assist, and freshman Annalisa Carson (Yarmouth, ME/Yarmouth) took the loss in net after making four saves.

Springfield freshman Kaeleigh Lannan (Derry, NH/New Hampton School) led all scorers with four goals and one assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren McAulay (Yorktown, NY/Yorktown) came away with the win after turning aside 20 shots, including 12 in the second half.

The Lyons return home on Tuesday to face conference power Babson College, which is ranked seventh nationally by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Start time on Keefe Field is slated for 4:30 p.m.

SCORING: 1st 2nd Final
Wheaton (4-5, 0-1) 5 4 9
Springfield (4-3, 1-0) 3 7 10

Cumulative Scoring:
Goals: WC- Meredith Hurd 3, Sara Dimick 2, Caitlin Grant 2, Brittany King, Madeline Williams; SC- Kaeleigh Lannan 4, Nicole Soucie 2, Alexandra Bazzano, Meagan Dobson, Erin Doolan, Nicole Flores

Assists: WC- King, Alexa Jurczak, Bridget Thornton; SC- Lannan

Goalkeeper Saves: WC- Annalisa Carson 4; SC- Lauren McAulay 20

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