Weekly Lyon

Men's Soccer (16-3-0, 5-1-0) Claims Fourth NEWMAC Championship, Set to Host NCAA Division III Tournament Opening Round Game

The Wheaton College men's soccer team captured its fourth New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament title over the weekend and in process is set to host a NCAA Division III Tournament first round game on Wednesday against the City College of New York (CCNY). Returning to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last four years and fourth time in the history of the program, the Lyons blanked Clark University, 2-0 on Wednesday, shut out Babson College, 4-0 in Saturday's semifinal game and then defeated MIT, 3-1 in Sunday's championship in Cambridge. Ranked third in the region and 19th in the country according to the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA), Wheaton extended its winning streak to 10 straight games.

Versus Clark, Wheaton collected the program's 200th victory, a the two teams battled to a scoreless tie through the first 42 minutes of the opening half. Freshman Brendan Cavanaugh (Newtown, CT/Salisbury School) snapped the tie in the 43rd minute, as he gave the hosts a 1-0 edge just before halftime. Cavanaugh used a header off of a perfectly-placed corner kick from junior Barry Finnerty (Milton, MA/Beaver Country Day). In the second half, the Lyons maintained their offensive presence on Clark's side of the field, tallying 14 shots while holding the visitors at bay with zero scoring opportunities. In the 60th minute, Wheaton added to its lead off of Finnerty's second successful corner. Senior George Thomas (Canton, MA/Canton) was the recipient of the Finnerty cross, as he used a leaping header to get past the Cougar goalie. First-year goalkeeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) earned his seventh shutout of the season, as the Lyons held a 26-2 advantage in shots.

Against Babson on Saturday, Wheaton triggered three quick goals over a span of 12 minutes and never looked back, as a Finnerty penalty kick gave the Lyons a 1-0 edge at the 25:14 minute mark. In the 31st minute, junior Matt Ristuccia (Newton, MA/Newton North) tallied the first of his two goals, which was assisted by senior Matt Mancini (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and sophomore James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School). Ristuccia later helped the Lyons balloon their lead to 3-0, as he delivered a ball to senior Andrew Hench (Marblehead, MA/Marblehead) in the 38th minute. In the second half, the Lyons added an insurance goal at 65:56, when Ristuccia successfully converted a pass from first-year Ariel Tatum (Cayman Islands, BWI/Holderness) for a comfortable 4-0 advantage. Pachniuk posted his eighth shutout of the season, as the Lyons outshot Babson, 11-3.

At MIT in the championship game, Wheaton avenged its only conference loss of the regular season. Finnerty figured in all three of Wheaton's goals, including posting a tally and two assists through the first 45 minutes of regulation. The Lyons triggered the game's first goal at the 9:31 minute mark, when Thomas headed in a corner kick from Finnerty. One minute later, Greenslit scored on another header off of a Finnerty corner. The Engineers cut their deficit in half in the 41st minute, but not even a minute later, Finnerty pushed the visitor lead back out to two goals, as he volleyed home Wheaton's and the game's final goal of the afternoon. The second half served as a defensive battle, as both teams combined for a mere five shots. Pachniuk was solid in net, posting four saves in the victory. Wheaton outshot the Engineers, 11-7, while MIT held an 8-3 margin in corner kicks.

Women's Soccer (21-1-0, 9-0-0) Captures Fourth Straight NEWMAC Title, Set to Host Third Consecutive NCAA Division III Regional Tournament

The Wheaton College women's soccer team captured its fourth straight NEWMAC Tournament title over the weekend and in process is set to host its third consecutive NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament. Extending its conference winning streak to 40 games (including tournaments), Wheaton blanked Wellesley College, 4-0 in Saturday's semifinal round and then shut out Springfield College, 6-0 in Sunday's championship at Mirrione Stadium. Ranked first in the region and third in the country by the NSCAA, the Lyons also extended their current winning streak to 17 games. Being the top seed at this weekend's regional semifinal and final rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Lyons will play the winner of Husson College and UMaine-Farmington on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

Versus Wellesley, Wheaton strung together its first three goals in a span of ten minutes in the opening half, as senior captain Christy McHugh (Salem, MA/Bishop Fenwick) opened the scoring in the 20th minute of play. Receiving a pass across the goal box from junior Beth Caromile (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim), McHugh tucked her shot out of the reach of the Wellesley goalkeeper and into the right corner of the netting. At the 26:50 minute mark, junior Erin Brennan (Mesa, AX/Xavier College Prep) dribbled down the middle of the field and rifled a shot into the bottom right corner of the net for the 2-0 advantage. Not even three minutes later, freshman Jordan Pouliot (Manchester, NH/Trinity) pushed across the Lyons' third goal, which was assisted by McHugh. In the second half, the Blue and White added their fourth goal of the contest in the 61st minute, when Brennan sent a centering pass to a wide open Tracy Prihoda (Needham, MA/Needham) in the middle of the goal box. In a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper, Prihoda managed to extend Wheaton's advantage to 4-0. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Broomhead (Barrington, RI/Barrington) picked up her 16th shutout of the season.

In Sunday's championship against Springfield, Prihoda and McHugh combined to net all six goals and Brennan added three assists, leading Wheaton to its program-best 18th shutout of the season. Prihoda opened the scoring in the 10th minute, taking a pass from Brennan and rifling her shot towards the bottom left corner of the net. The Springfield goalkeeper partially blocked the shot, but the ball managed to trickle across the goal line for the 1-0 edge. Not even two minutes later, Brennan found McHugh for a 2-0 advantage that began on a corner kick from junior Christy Schneider (Jonesboro, GA/Jonesboro). Later in the half, the Lyons reeled off three straight goals over a 5:26 span, including Prihoda's second and third tallies of the afternoon. McHugh also picked up her second goal of the half, while senior Sheila Lacambra (Walnut Creek, CA/Northgate) added two assists on Wheaton's final two goals of the stanza. Prihoda added her fourth goal in the 69th minute, as junior Erin Duffy (E. Longmeadow, MA/E. Longmeadow) served a ball off a restart from near midfield. Broomhead posted two saves in 78 minutes of action, as the Lyons held a 27-10 advantage in shots.

Women's Volleyball (17-17, 5-4) Finishes Season at NEWMAC Tournament

The fifth-seeded Wheaton College women's volleyball team was eliminated from the opening round of Tuesday night's NEWMAC Tournament, as the fourth-seeded Coast Guard Academy Bears avenged an early season loss and defeated the visiting Lyons, 3-2 (20-30, 30-26, 29-31, 30-18, 11-15). Having its three-match winning streak come to an end, Wheaton finishes the season at 17-17 overall.

Sophomore Marriah Vengroff (Storrs, CT/E.O. Smith) paced the Wheaton offense with 21 kills and 10 blocks, while senior captain Bree Bessette (Charlestown, RI/The Prout School) just missed a triple-double with 14 kills, 12 blocks and eight digs. Sophomore Elizabeth Reagh (Seattle, WA/Seattle Lutheran) also recorded a double-double with 17 digs and 13 kills. Senior Darcey Vertuca (Boulder, CO/Boulder) posted an all-around solid performance with 26 digs, 40 assists, six kills and three service aces. Senior Anna Kratky (St. Louis, MO/Villa Duchesne) spearheaded the defense with 30 digs, while first-year athletes Jade Lee (Eagle, ID/Eagle) and Allison Reichentahl (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) added 14 and 11 digs, respectively.

Vertuca Awarded NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week Laurels

Vertuca was awarded NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week laurels for the week ending on Sunday, November 2. She helped Wheaton extend its winning streak to three matches with a pair of conference victories over Babson College and Mount Holyoke College. In those two matches, Vertuca totaled 41 digs, 79 assists, nine blocks, six service aces and eight kills. Highlighting the week was her performance in a 3-2 win at Mount Holyoke, as she posted career-high totals of 32 digs and 53 assists. Vertuca also had six blocks and three service aces. Against Babson, she posted nine digs and 26 assists.

Men's (1-0) and Women's (1-0) Swimming Sweeps Gordon, Women Compete at Wellesley

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams had little difficulty in their first dual meet of the 2003-04 season Friday night in Balfour Natatorium, as the Lyons swept the Fighting Scots of Gordon College. The men were victorious, 129-106, while the women posted a convincing 139-109 triumph. On Saturday, the women placed fourth at the seven-team Betty Spears Relays held at Wellesley College. Trailing team champion Wellesley along with Smith College and Keene State College, Wheaton's 70 points bettered Babson College, WPI and Westfield State College.

Against Gordon, the women posted an impressive nine individual event wins and two relay victories, led by multiple-event top finishes from senior co-captain Katie Levine (Needham, MA/Needham) and freshman Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa). Levine scored wins in the 100-yard backstroke (1:06.51) and 100-yard freestyle (58.62), while Bohn topped the competition in the 50- (35.00) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:13.77) events.

Levine also swam a leg on the winning 400-yard freestyle relay team, joining sophomores Courtney Catalano (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and Lauren Pcholinski (Old Saybrook, CT/Old Saybrook) and first-year Colleen Smith (Milford, CT/Lauralton Hall) with a time of 4:05.62.

On the men's side, the Lyons captured wins in seven individual events and both relays, as senior co-captain Chris Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area) led the way with wins in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke as well as the 200-yard individual medley. Hurley finished with a time of 57.91 in the 100-yard back, 2:05.66 in the 200 back and 2:10.61 in the 200 IM. He also joined senior co-captain Patrick Sagui (Westwood, MA/Westwood), sophomore John Kuckens (West Hartford, CT/Hall) and freshman Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) on the winning 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:34.12. Roberts was again impressive with multiple-event victories in the 100-yard butterfly (1:00.86) and 200-yard freestyle (1:54.91) in addition to swimming a leg on the top 200-yard medley relay team.

At Wellesley, the Blue and White finished second in the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay. Levine, Bohn, Smith and junior Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) posted a time of 2:00.93 in the 200 medley, just two seconds off the leader. In the 200-yard free relay, Levine, Worrall, Bohn and Smith finished in 1:49.04, a little over two seconds off the winning pace set by Wellesley. The Lyons also placed third in three separate events on the afternoon, including the 200-yard butterfly-breaststroke, the 300-yard breaststroke and 500-yard freestyle relays.

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