Weekly Lyon

Field Hockey (6-3, 0-1) Edges Bridgewater State in Overtime, Drops NEWMAC Opener

The Wheaton College field hockey team had an up and down week that started with a dramatic 3-2 double-overtime victory at Bridgewater State College on Wednesday. On Saturday, the Lyons opened their New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schedule on a down note, falling to Mount Holyoke College, 2-0 at Clark Field.

At Bridgewater, freshman Katherine Krall's (Winthrop, ME/Winthrop) goal with eight minutes remaining in the second overtime gave Wheaton a hard-fought win. Krall pounced on a loose ball in the midst of a scramble in front of the Bridgewater State net and wristed a shot past the BSC goaltender. After a scoreless first half, Bridgewater State struck less than a minute into the second stanza. The Bears' lead would be short-lived, however, as the Lyons responded with two quick goals from sophomore Elizabeth Rowland (Holliston, MA/Holliston) and junior Melissa Busfield (Gloucester, MA). With 27:51 remaining in the second half, Rowland converted a pass from Elizabeth Reimers (Wareham, MA/Tabor Academy) to tie the game at 1-1. Less than three minutes later, Busfield scored on an unassisted effort to give Wheaton its first lead of the day. BSC fought back moments later to tie the game at 2-2 with 19:07 remaining in the second half. The game remained deadlocked throughout the rest of the second half and through the first overtime period, setting the stage for Krall. Goalkeeper Emily Fiskio (Branford, CT/Branford) finished with 14 saves on the afternoon.

On Saturday, Mount Holyoke held the upper hand on the offensive end in the opening half, as the visitors posted a 7-1 shot advantage and 3-0 penalty corner edge. The two teams battled to a scoreless draw in the first stanza, but things quickly changed for the host Lyons in the second half. Mount Holyoke was firing on all cylinders early in the period, tallying its two goals in the first five minutes of play. The Mount Holyoke defense was solid, limiting Wheaton to one shot on the day. Holyoke triggered 16 shots with a 7-4 edge in penalty corners. Fiskio posted 11 saves in the loss.

Men's Soccer (6-3-0, 0-1-0) Drops Pair of Games to Plymouth State and MIT

The Wheaton College men's soccer team had its four-game winning streak come to an end this week, as the Lyons fell to a couple of regionally-ranked teams in Plymouth State University, 2-0 on Wednesday and MIT, 4-2 in Saturday's NEWMAC opener at Keefe Field. Wheaton was 12th in the country and second in New England according to the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA).

On Wednesday, the key goal of the game came in the opening minutes of the second half when PSU headed home a corner kick. The Panthers iced their win with a penalty kick goal with nine seconds remaining in the contest. Plymouth had three excellent scoring opportunities in the first eight minutes, but Wheaton keeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) came up with big saves. The Lyons had a couple of scoring chances early in the second half, but the Panther keeper made a point-blank save on Matt Ristuccia (Newton, MA/Newton North), and Matt Mancini's (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) shot glanced off the post. With PSU leading 1-0, a potential game-tying goal by Wheaton was waved off by an offside call with 16 minutes remaining. That led to a red card for the Lyons, and the visitors were forced to play a man down the rest of the way. Wheaton had a 7-5 advantage in shots.

Against MIT, the Lyons fell to the Engineers for the first time in seven meetings dating back to 1998. MIT scored back-to-back goals over a 38 second span to give the Engineers a quick 2-0 advantage early in the first half. Wheaton got a goal back towards the end of the half, as senior George Thomas (Canton, MA/Canton) headed in a Barry Finnerty (Milton, MA/Beaver Country Day) corner kick in the 42nd minute. In the second half, MIT extended its lead back to two goals. The Engineers then capitalized on their lead at 70:01, scoring their fourth goal to put the game out of reach. Thomas brought the Lyons to within 4-2 at 75:15, but it proved to be too little too late as MIT left Wheaton stunned. Pachniuk had one save, as the Blue and White outshot MIT, 22-9 with an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.

Finnerty Awarded with NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week Honors

Finnerty was awarded NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, September 21. Finnerty had a hand in all four Wheaton goals, earning two assists in the Blue and White's 2-1 victory at Amherst. The junior back then assisted Wheaton's first score at Brandeis and later posted the game-winning goal to help the Lyons rally to a 2-1 win.

Women's Soccer (9-1-0, 1-0-0) Blanks Williams and Mount Holyoke in 2-0 Week

The Wheaton College women's soccer team extended its win streak to five games thanks to a pair of shutouts this week. The Lyons blanked regionally-ranked Williams College, 2-0 Wednesday night at Szot Park in Chicopee, Massachusetts and later shut out Mount Holyoke College, 6-0 on Saturday afternoon in the NEWMAC opener. Upping its shutout total to eight games on the season, Wheaton is ranked sixth in the country and first in New England by the NSCAA.

Against Williams, Wheaton's defense was once again impressive, holding the Eph offense in check with three shots, all taking place in the first half. Following a scoreless first half, the Lyons opened the scoring midway through the second stanza. Sophomore Teresa Lebel (Middleton, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon) distributed her pass from the wing to junior Erin Brennan (Mesa, AZ/Xavier College Prep), who then placed her shot just underneath the crossbar at the 64:34 minute mark. Wheaton added an insurance goal in the 86th minute of play, when freshman Jordan Pouliot (Manchester, NH/Trinity) took a pass from senior Tracy Prihoda (Needham, MA/Needham) and planted her perfectly-placed shot in the bottom right corner of the net. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Broomhead (Barrington, RI/Barrington) was untested with one save, as the Lyons outshot the Ephs, 22-3 with a 10-0 advantage in corner kicks.

At Mount Holyoke, Wheaton's first goal was a monumental one, as senior Christy McHugh (Salem, MA/Bishop Fenwick) surpassed the 100-point milestone at the 2:50 minute mark. Freshman Maggie Falkenreck (Seattle, WA/Bishop Blanchet) posted Wheaton's next two goals on assists by freshman Jordan Pouliot (Manchester, NH/Trinity) and Prihoda at 4:55 and 21:46, respectively. Brennan ballooned the Blue and White's lead to 4-0 just before the intermission. Sophomore Kate Miller (Williamstown, MA/Mt. Greylock) picked up the assist on the play. The second half was just as impressive for the Wheaton offense, as Prihoda and senior Sheila Lacambra (Walnut Creek, CA/Northgate) added extra insurance with two additional scores before the halfway point of the stanza. Pouliot and McHugh were credited with the assists. The Lyons dominated play the entire game, holding a 30-2 shot advantage and 8-2 edge in corner kicks. Broomhead and sophomore goalie Emily Lipsky (Whitestone, NY/Sacred Heart Academy) combined for the shutout.

Women's Tennis (7-1, 4-1) Suffers First Loss of Season, Competes at ITA Regional

The Wheaton College women's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season this week, as the Lyons fell to unbeaten Babson College, 7-2 in Tuesday's NEWMAC match at Wheaton's Beard Field House. The Lyons then sent three of their first-year athletes to compete at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Regional Tournament held at Bowdoin College over the weekend.

Wheaton and Babson entered the match with a combined overall record of 12-0 and a conference mark of 8-0. The Lyons posted a pair of hard-fought matches in the top two doubles positions, but the Beavers prevailed in both in addition to third doubles to complete the sweep. Wheaton salvaged a pair of points in singles play, as freshman Ashley Kriwinsky (Munson, OH/Hawken) cruised past her opponent 6-3, 6-1 in the top position and classmate Darby McDermott (Briarcliff, NY/Hackley School) was victorious in the fifth spot. McDermott won 7-5 in the first set, but her opponent had to retire in the second set due to an injury, giving the Lyons their second singles point.

Over the weekend, Kriwinsky downed an All-America player from Williams College 7-6, 6-2 in the opening round and then cruised past the number-five seed from Bowdoin 6-1, 6-1 in the second round. Advancing to Saturday's quarterfinal round against the number-two seed of Amherst College, Kriwinsky battled tooth and nail before falling 6-3 in the opening set and then dropping a hard-fought 7-6 tiebreaker set. Kriwinsky also teamed up with McDermott in doubles play, as the tandem suffered an 8-4 setback to number-two seed Amherst. Freshman Jamie Weiss (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker) also competed at the tournament, as she lost 7-5, 6-0 in the opening round to Colby College.

Women's Volleyball (6-9, 0-3) Falls to Springfield, Breaks Even at Bridgewater State Open

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team posted a 2-3 week, including dropping its third conference match of the season. The Lyons fell to Springfield, 3-1 (23-30, 30-22, 21-30, 20-30) on Tuesday at Emerson Gymnasium and then broke even in a four-match stretch at the Bridgewater State Open over the weekend. Wheaton began its weekend in strong fashion, as the Lyons swept Rhode Island College, 3-0 (30-22, 30-26, 30-10) and Rivier College, 3-0 (30-23, 30-22, 30-17) on Friday night. On Saturday, Wheaton dropped its two matches, including hard-fought losses to Plymouth State University, 3-0 (28-30, 32-34, 28-30) and host Bridgewater State, 3-2 (10-30, 19-30, 34-32, 30-24, 13-15).

Versus Springfield, senior Bree Bessette (Charlestown, RI/The Prout School) led the offense with 16 kills to go along with six blocks, while classmate Darcey Vertuca (Boulder, CO/Boulder) had 20 digs and 38 assists. Sophomore Carilyn Tately (Walpole, MA/Walpole) added 15 digs.

Against RIC, Bessette posted nine kills and four blocks, while Vertuca contributed 33 assists and a team-high seven digs. Freshman Ashley Emerson (Ashford, CT/E.O. Smith) added seven kills.

Bessette led the hitting charge versus Rivier with a double-double of 13 kills and 10 blocks. Senior Anna Kratky (St. Louis, MO/Villa Duchesne) spearheaded the defense with 14 digs, while Vertuca and sophomore Elizabeth Reagh (Seattle, WA/Seattle Lutheran) each added 12 digs to round out the double-figure dig totals. Vertuca also had 32 assists and five blocks, while sophomore Marriah Vengroff (Storrs, CT/E.O. Smith) accounted for eight kills.

On Saturday versus Plymouth State, Vengroff and Bessette registered 14 and 13 kills, respectively, with Bessette having eight blocks in the match. Vertuca just missed a triple-double, recording 14 digs, 44 assists and nine kills. Reagh had 16 digs, while Kratky added 10 digs.

In the final match against Bridgewater State, Vengroff and Bessette continued to pace the offense with 14 and 11 kills, respectively, with Vengroff posting seven blocks and Bessette nine. Kratky accounted for 22 digs, while Vertuca distributed 40 assists with 10 digs. Reagh also had 10 digs.

Cross Country Teams Capture Team Championships at the Harrier Classic

The Wheaton College men's and women's cross country teams were impressive following their three-week hiatuses, as both programs captured the team championships at the Harrier Classic Saturday afternoon at Franklin Park. Junior Stan Pyle (S. Portland, ME/S. Portland) was the individual champion on the men's side, propelling the Lyons to 88 points, while senior Kim Spence (Barrington, NH/Dover) paced the women with a fourth place mark, leading the Blue and White with 74 total points.

Pyle covered the 8K course in 25:48, 13 seconds faster than the next competitor. In addition to Pyle, the men boasted three other runners among the top 23 finishers, including senior Brannin Buehner (Lubec, ME/Lubec) in 14th in 27:27, classmate Terry Panetta (Hicksville, NY/St. Anthony's) in 17th in 27:33 and sophomore Eric Richardson (East Walpole, MA/Bishop Feehan) in 23rd in 27:54.

The women had three runners finish in the top 12, including Spence's 19:02 showing on the 5K course. Sophomore Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) and freshman Jonatta Moore (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) ran side by side in capturing the 11th and 12th positions, respectively. Leith finished the course in 19:26, while Moore was on her heals at 19:27. Not far behind was sophomore Christina Langevin (Wilbraham, MA/Minnechaug Regional), who placed 18th overall in 20:01.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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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)