Weekly Lyon

Men's Soccer (16-3-2, 5-1-0) Selected to Host NCAA Tournament Second Round Game

The Wheaton College men's soccer team, ranked 18th in the country and third in New England according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), has been selected to host a NCAA Division III Tournament second round game on Saturday, November 13 against the winner of Babson College and Castleton State College. Earning one of the final at-large berths, the Lyons will make their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and fourth in the last five seasons. Wheaton edged Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 2-1 in overtime in Wednesday's opening round game of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament at Keefe Field, before falling to Babson, 2-0 in Saturday's semifinal round at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Against WPI, the Engineers had a golden opportunity eight minutes into the contest, but Wheaton sophomore goalkeeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) made an impressive diving save to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. The Lyons countered with a couple of headers by junior James Greenslit (Framingham, MA/Rivers School) and freshman Ian Walker (Marblehead, MA/IMG Academy), but to no avail. WPI finally scored in the 37th minute, but Wheaton eventually deadlocked the game at one in the 58th minute of play, as sophomore Dennis Durao (West Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic) served a pass from midfield to Matt Ristuccia (Newton, MA/Newton). Ristuccia beat the WPI defense and found himself alone with the goalie, as the senior forward lifted his shot into the back of the goal. In the overtime session, the Engineers came close to pulling off the upset bid, but Pachniuk managed to punch the ball over the crossbar to help the Lyons stave off elimination. With under two minutes remaining, Ristuccia posted his fourth game-winner of the year on a breakaway.

Versus Babson, the Beavers struck for a pivotal first goal just 11:26 into the game off of a well-placed throw-in. Babson doubled its lead in the 42nd minute of play, taking a 2-0 lead into the half. The Lyons bounced back from a first half in which they only managed two attempts at the target, firing off nine shots in the second stanza, but Wheaton was unable to take advantage of its scoring opportunities. With 1:14 remaining in regulation, the Lyons appeared to have cut the Beaver lead in half, but the goal was nullified due to an offsides call. Pachniuk accounted for two stops in the loss, as Wheaton outshot Babson, 11-8 with a 6-0 advantage in corner kicks.

Women's Soccer (21-0-1, 8-0-1) Earns Fifth Consecutive NCAA Tournament Berth

The Wheaton College women's soccer team, ranked second in the country and first in New England according to the NSCAA, has been selected to host a NCAA Division III Tournament second round game on Saturday, November 13 against the winner of Endicott College and Williams College. Making their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the Lyons captured their fifth straight NEWMAC Tournament title over the weekend with a 4-0 victory over Babson College in Saturday's semifinal round and a 2-0 shutout over Smith College in Sunday's final held at Mirrione Stadium. Unbeaten in a program-best 22 games this season, Wheaton also ran its conference unbeaten streak to 52 games including tournament play, which ranks as the fourth-highest total in Division III history.

Versus Babson, the Lyons wasted little time with their offensive attack, as the hosts opened a 1-0 lead three minutes into the game. Freshman Lauren Konopka (Medford, NJ/Holy Cross) received an end-line cross from sophomore Jordan Pouliot (Manchester, NH/Trinity) on the far side of the net and was in position to knock her soft header into the target. Wheaton doubled its lead in the 16th minute, thanks to a penalty kick from junior Teresa LeBel (Middleton, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon). Wheaton completed its first-half scoring with just over six minutes remaining, as freshman Ashley Furr (Chicopee, MA/Cathedral) found an empty right side of the net. In the second stanza, Wheaton tacked on its second penalty-kick goal of the morning, this time by first-year Katelyn Brack (Lake Oswego, OR/Oregon Episcopal). Freshman goalkeeper Stacey Kronenberg (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown) went untested, as the Lyons outshot the Beavers, 32-3.

Against Smith, Wheaton ran its successive shutout streak to 10 games in a row and 20 games overall, both program records. In the opening half, Wheaton senior Erin Brennan (Mesa, AZ/Xavier College Prep) had the hosts' first couple of scoring opportunities midway through the stanza, including a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar. The Lyons broke through in the 25th minute, as senior Beth Caromile (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim) took advantage of a goalie slip off a goal kick and rifled her shot into the middle netting. Brennan doubled Wheaton's lead just over 17 minutes into the second half with her third point of the day. The play started on a corner kick from freshman Erin Davis (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow), who dumped her pass to the near side of the goal. Brennan initially got a head on it, and on her second effort following a rebound back to her, she launched her shot into the right side of the netting. Kronenberg, who hasn't allowed a goal in over 843 minutes, posted three saves en route to her 16th shutout of the year.

Brennan Records ECAC and NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week Honors

Brennan recorded Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week honors for the week ending on Sunday, October 31. Brennan helped the second-ranked Lyons extend their NEWMAC unbeaten streak with a goal against Mount Holyoke College in the opening round of the conference tournament. She also tallied a goal in the Lyons' 4-0 victory over Clark University. Brennan, who is currently second on the team in scoring, is also among Wheaton's all-time scoring leaders, ranking second in her career in total points.

Women's Volleyball (13-16, 4-5) Finishes Year with League Tourney Loss at Springfield

The sixth-seeded Wheaton College women's volleyball team dropped a three-set match to number-three seed Springfield College, 3-0 (15-30, 19-30, 16-30) Tuesday night in the opening round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament at Blake Arena. The sweep concludes the Lyons' season with an overall record of 13-16.

Freshman Chelsea Fleher (Newbury Park, CA/Newbury Park) paced the Lyons with eight kills and nine digs, while junior Elizabeth Reagh (Seattle, WA/Seattle Lutheran) recorded 19 assists and seven digs. Sophomore Jade Lee (Eagle, ID/Eagle), and first-year Amber MacMillan (Chino Valley, AZ/Chino Valley) also accounted for seven digs apiece.

Men's (1-0) and Women's (1-0) Swimming Off to Strong Starts at Gordon and Batterman

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams swept host Gordon College Friday night in the Lyons' first dual meet of the 2004-05 season. The men were victorious, 131-105, while the women recorded an impressive 179-78 triumph. On Saturday, Wheaton hosted the four-team Charlie Batterman Relays in Balfour Natatorium, with the women taking second with 106 points and the men finishing third with 84 points.

At Gordon, the women posted an impressive 12 individual event wins and two relay victories, led by multiple-event victories from sophomores Kelly Allinson (Portsmouth, NH/Portsmouth) and Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa). Allinson headed the field in the 100-yard backstroke and 500-yard freestyle events in 1:18.50 and 5:50.96, respectively, while Bohn tallied wins in the 50-yard butterfly in 31.52 and 200-yard free in 2:08.29. Notching the top finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay, Allinson and Bohn teamed up with junior Lauren Pcholinski (Old Saybrook, CT/Old Saybrook) and first-year Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose) for a winning time of 3:57.16. Pratt also placed first in the 100-yard fly in 1:03.52 and later joined senior Amanda Berthelette (Milford, NH/Milford), sophomore Kristen Behrens (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) and freshman Elizabeth McKay (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) to win the 200-yard medley relay.

In men's action, the Lyons sealed victories in nine individual events and both relays. Sophomore co-captain Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) won three events, while freshmen Joe Fowler (Farmington, ME/Mount Blue) and Matt Jordan (Ellsworth, ME/Ellsworth) picked up two individual wins each. Roberts led the field in the 50-yard backstroke in 27.90, 50-yard freestyle in 22.48 and 200-yard free in 1:54.44. Jordan was victorious in the 100-yard butterfly and 100-yard free events, while Fowler turned in top times in the 100-yard back and 200-yard individual medley. In the 200-yard medley relay, Fowler and Jordan sided with junior John Kuckens (West Hartford, CT/Hall) and freshman Yunuscan Tokcan (Providence, RI/Northfield Mount Hermon) to edge out the Fighting Scots' team by a tenth of a second with a time of 1:50.52. Roberts also teamed up with senior co-captain Chris Klinkow (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline), sophomore Zach Hicks (Bath, ME/Morse) and freshman Ryan Patch (Lexington, MA/Lexington) to take the 400-yard freestyle relay.

At the Batterman Relays, it didn't take the women's team very long to start breaking records, as the 200-yard freestyle relay team recorded a time of 1:42:84, nearly a second faster than the previous record of 1:43:58 set in February of 2003. The team was comprised of senior co-captain Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) alongside the freshman trio of McKay, Pratt and Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury). Also highlighting the women's meet was the performance in the 200-yard butterfly relay, as Worrall, Pratt, junior Courtney Catalano (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and sophomore Colleen Smith (Milford, CT/Lauralton Hall) turned in the meet's top time of 1:53.83. The divers also had a strong showing, as senior Benedetta Monzani (Bologna, Italy/Liceo Luigi Galvani) and freshman Elizabeth Slavin (Niskayuna, NY/Hyde School) sided to place second in both the one- and three-meter events. The women finished the meet with four second-place relay finishes.

The men had a handful of close third-place marks on the afternoon, including the 200-yard freestyle relay team comprised of Klinkow, Roberts, Jordan and sophomore Matt Hurley (Belfast, ME/Belfast Area). The foursome finished the race in a time of 1:30.84, just over a second off the lead. The same group also posted a strong finish in the 200-yard medley relay race with a time of 1:41:39, less than four seconds shy of the top time. The divers for the men's team grabbed a pair of runner-up finishes, as senior Brendon Pohner (Agawam, MA/St. Mary's) and classmate Aaron Fix (Minneapolis, MN/St. Paul Academy) tallied 175.20 points in the one-meter dive and 173.35 points in the three-meter event.

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