Weekly Lyon

Field Hockey (4-4) Records 1-2 Week, Falls to Defending League Champion

The Wheaton College field hockey team played a pair of non-conference contests during the week before opening its New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season schedule. The Lyons fell to Bridgewater State, 1-0 on Tuesday and then defeated Tufts, 1-0 for the first time since 1998 on Thursday. On Saturday, Wheaton dropped a hard-fought 1-0 double overtime loss at Mount Holyoke, last year's conference regular season and tournament champion.

Against Bridgewater State, Wheaton was unable to get an equalizing goal late in the game that would have sent the contest into overtime, as the Lyons fell to the Bears. Bridgewater put the pressure on early in the first half but was unable to capitalize on its scoring opportunities. The Bears rattled off four shots in the first frame and kept the ball in the Wheaton zone. Freshman goalie Emily Fiskio (Bransfield, CT/Bransfield) turned away all four shots she faced to keep the game scoreless entering the intermission. With 14 minutes remaining in the second half, Bridgewater was able to capitalize on a penalty corner. The combination of Fiskio and senior Amy Haller (Pittsburgh, PA/Western Reserve Academy) posted five saves for Wheaton. The Lyons were outshot, 7-3 and had five penalty corners opposed to nine for the visitors.

Versus Tufts, senior co-captain Katherine Sciolto (Brooklyn, NY/Poly Prep CDS) scored a breakaway goal with 12:05 remaining in the game to lift the Lyons to victory. Outshooting the Jumbos 5-2 in the first half, the Lyons were not able to muster any goals in the opening stanza, resulting in a scoreless opening half for the sixth time this season. In the second stanza, Tufts opened up its offense with a number of scoring opportunities, collecting seven shots and seven penalty corners in the half. With a little over 12 minutes remaining, Sciolto took a clearing pass at midfield, beat two defenders and then rifled her shot by the Tufts goalkeeper and into the bottom right corner of the cage. Fiskio finished the game with four saves for the Lyons in collecting her third shutout of the season.

After nearly 86 minutes of scoreless play at Mount Holyoke, Wheaton allowed a goal by the hosts just 55 seconds into the second overtime session. Despite being outshot 33-6 on the afternoon, Wheaton continued to stretch Mount Holyoke to the limit as Fiskio turned away 23 shots on the day. Twice Mount Holyoke had very close opportunities to score, only to be turned away on defensive saves by senior Melanie Kilsey (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) and freshman Leigh-Anne Cioffredi (Lebanon, NH/Lebanon). Playing without its two top scorers, Wheaton stretched the game into double overtime behind six Fiskio saves in the first overtime. As the second overtime began, Mount Holyoke poured on the offense immediately by registering three shots before posting the game-winning goal. Fiskio's 23 saves was good enough to rank seventh all-time on Wheaton's single game saves category.

Men's Soccer (6-2-0) Runs Win Streak to Three Straight, Antoniuk Breaks Assist Record

The Wheaton College men's soccer team, ranked fourth in New England, ran its win streak to three straight games, as the Lyons defeated Plymouth State, 3-0 on Wednesday before taking their first step in defending their conference regular season title with a 4-3 victory at MIT on Sunday. With its win over MIT, Wheaton has now won 15 consecutive conference regular season and tournament games.

With Wednesday's victory over Plymouth, the Lyons have collected 19 consecutive victories at home dating back to October, 2000. Senior Dan Antoniuk (Philadelphia, PA/Central) made history on the afternoon. With his assist on classmate David Wurm's (Dunstable, MA/Groton-Dunstable) goal in the 75th minute, Antoniuk notched his 30th career assist, breaking the three year old record held by former Wheaton All-American Jim Manganello (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) '99. Also scoring for the Lyons was senior Shaun Cavanaugh (Newtown, CT/Newtown) on a penalty kick and Antoniuk on a feed from Wurm. Freshman Max Hellman (Oklahoma City, OK/Casady) produced two saves on the afternoon in picking up his second consecutive shutout. The Lyons outshot the Panthers, 20-3.

In a rematch of last year's conference tournament final with MIT, Wheaton fell behind in the early minutes but rallied with four unanswered goals including two in each half, to put the game out of reach. Junior Matt Mancini (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) contributed to three of Wheaton's tallies with two goals and an assist. Antoniuk and Cavanaugh also posted goals in that spurt for the Lyons, while senior Jason Percy (Plymouth, MA/Plymouth South) added two assists on the day. Wheaton outshot the Engineers, 21-6 with a 3-2 edge in corner kick attempts. Following substitutions by the Lyons, MIT managed to get a pair of goals within the final 15 minutes of regulation to close to gap to 4-3. Wheaton first-year goalie Max Hellman (Oklahoma City, OK/Casady) posted three saves.

Women's Soccer (8-1-0) Records Fifth Consecutive Victory, Top 23rd-Ranked Williams

The Wheaton College women's soccer team, ranked first in New England for the second straight week and sixth in the country, posted a 2-0 week in defeating 23rd-ranked Williams, 1-0 on Tuesday at Szot Park in Chicopee, Mass. In defending its three-year conference regular season championship Saturday, the Lyons downed Mount Holyoke, 3-1.

In a heated clash between two nationally-ranked women's soccer programs on Tuesday, Wheaton blanked Williams in a non-league game. Junior Christy McHugh (Salem, MA/Bishop Fenwick) netted the game-winning goal at 12:36 minute mark. McHugh, following a feed from classmate Tracy Prihoda (Needham, MA/Needham), put Wheaton on the board early with a blast past the Williams goalkeeper. The goal was McHugh's fourth of the season, while Prihoda raised her team-leading point total to 20. Williams mounted a rally, but Wheaton goalie Jessica Broomhead (Barrington, RI/Barrington), with four saves in the last six minutes, was up to the challenge. Broomhead finished the contest with seven saves, as Wheaton held an 18-12 edge in shots.

With the Mount Holyoke win, Wheaton recorded its 17th straight regular season conference victory. Mount Holyoke came out strong in the opening minutes of the first half, taking a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute. Mount Holyoke's lead proved to be short-lived, as Wheaton notched the equalizer just nine minutes later. McHugh took a feed from Prihoda and slipped her shot past the Mount Holyoke goaltender. Less than a minute later, Wheaton took the lead for good as Prihoda crossed the ball to sophomore Beth Caromile (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim), who drove home the eventual game-winning goal to give Wheaton a 2-1 advantage at the intermission. Prihoda helped add some insurance in the 63rd minute, as she recorded her third assist of the day with a centering pass to sophomore Erin Brennan (Mesa, AZ/Xavier College Prep), who tucked her shot under the crossbar. Broomhead made four saves in recording the win for Wheaton, as the Lyons outshot Mount Holyoke, 31-6.

Women's Tennis (3-4, 1-4) Falls to Babson in Conference Play

The Wheaton College women's tennis team dropped a 9-0 decision at Babson in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play Tuesday afternoon.

Babson swept the three doubles matches and then went onto win all six singles matches to complete the sweep. Babson posted five straight-set victories on the afternoon, with the exception of third singles. Senior Tanya Soares (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) battled her opponent to a third set after winning the middle set 7-5. Soares dropped the first set 6-2 and then fell short in the final set 6-1.

Women's Volleyball (7-7, 0-3) Captures Bridgewater State Open, Vertuca Hits Milestone

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team reeled off four consecutive victories en route to capturing the Bridgewater State College Open Championship over the weekend. On Tuesday night, the Lyons fell to Springfield, 3-1 (30-28, 22-30, 18-30, 26-30) in a conference contest.

At the BSC Open, the Lyons defeated Endicott, 3-0 (30-21, 30-14, 30-23) and Plymouth State, 3-1 (28-30, 30-12, 30-23, 30-21) on Friday evening to reach Saturday's gold medal round. In the gold medal round, the Lyons dispatched host Bridgewater State, 3-1 (30-20, 30-28, 12-30, 30-21) and Bates College, 3-2 (27-30, 30-18, 31-33, 30-21, 15-12) to capture the team title.

At Springfield, junior middle hitter Bree Bessette (Charlestown, RI/The Prout School) and freshman middle hitter Marriah Vengroff (Storrs, CT/E.O. Smith) led the attack with 11 kills apiece for the Lyons. Junior setter Darcey Vertuca (Boulder, CO/Boulder) posted an all-around strong performance with 36 assists, 10 digs and four service aces, while senior outside hitter Melissa Jamin (Cold Spring, NY/Haldane) added 13 digs in the loss.

A milestone was reached Friday evening, as Vertuca recorded 40 assists against Plymouth State. Her 40th assist against the Panthers gave her 1,500 total for her career. Vertuca currently ranks third on the all-time assists list with 1,579 career assists. For the weekend, she registered 138 assists, capturing Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament as well as a spot on the All-Tournament team.

In the opening match of Pool B, Wheaton had little difficulty in scoring a decisive 3-0 victory over Endicott. Jamin led the way offensively with eight kills, while Vengroff produced six kills. Later that evening against Plymouth, Vertuca posted 40 assists and Vengroff added 14 kills. First-year outside hitter Elizabeth Reagh (Seattle, WA/Seattle Lutheran) registered 23 digs and 10 kills in the victory.

In the gold medal round opener against host Bridgewater State, the Lyons were led by Vertuca's double-double (33 assists, 15 digs). Jamin added 17 digs and Vengroff recorded 11 kills. In the final match against Bates, the Lyons downed the Bobcats in a see-saw battle behind Vertuca's 46 assists and 24 digs. Jamin (20 digs, 11 kills) and first-year outside hitter Katie Stephens (Santa Barbara, CA/Dos Pueblos) (16 digs, 12 kills) also recorded double-double performances. Vengroff produced 13 kills and Reagh contributed 24 digs in capturing the championship.

Cross Country Teams Place Fourth and Ninth, Respectively at Codfish Bowl

Sophomores Erin O'Brien (North Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) and Lindsay Whalen (Dedham, MA/Dedham) placed fifth and 11th, respectively in leading the Wheaton College women's cross country team to a fourth place finish at the 35th Annual Codfish Bowl at Franklin Park Saturday afternoon. The Wheaton men placed a respectable ninth on the afternoon, led by a 40th-place finish by junior Brian Donoghue (Holyoke, MA/Holyoke Catholic).

Brandeis captured the Codfish Bowl team title on the women's side with 37 points, while MIT won the men's race with 47 points. Wheaton's women's team posted 118 points in the 13-team field, while the men totaled 266 points in the 17-team pool.

The Lyon women placed five runners in the top 51 positions. O'Brien led the way for Wheaton with a time of 19:29, while Whalen finished the 5,000-meter course in 20:01. Rounding out the list was sophomore Lindsey Degon (Palmer, MA/Palmer) in 20:54, first-year Christina Langevin (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional) in 21:06 and sophomore Emily Doenges (Milford, CT/Saint Joseph) in 22:00.

On the men's side, six runners finished in the top half of the race, with Donoghue leading the pack, finishing in 27:37. Rounding out Wheaton's top five runners were juniors Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's) and Brannin Buehner (Lubec, ME/Lubec) in 27:58 and 28:09, respectively, sophomore Joe Chadwick (Shelburne Falls, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) in 28:44 and first-year Eric Richardson (E. Walpole, MA/Bishop Feehan) in 28:57.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News

Men's Tennis: Men's tennis players Beekman and Hudgins named ITA Scholar-Athletes (more)

Women's Soccer: Hough's tally sends Wheaton past Emmanuel, Leddy notches third shutout (more)