Weekly Lyon

Field Hockey (12-4, 4-1) Splits Pair of NEWMAC Games, Slides into Second-Place Tie

The Wheaton College field hockey team split a pair of New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games this past week, downing Clark University, 3-2 in double overtime on Tuesday before dropping a 4-2 decision against nationally-ranked Springfield College on Saturday in a battle between the final two teams perfect in conference play. The Lyons saw an end come to their six-game winning streak, which fell one shy of matching the school mark, and slid into a two-way tie for second in the NEWMAC with Wellesley College. Wheaton hosts the Blue on Tuesday.

Senior Shea Clarke (Bellingham, MA/Bellingham) played a hand in all three goals, including scoring the game-winner with 1:28 remaining in the second overtime, as the Lyons bumped host Clark. Clarke converted sophomore Rachel Alfiero's (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) 18th-minute assist, Alfiero's first collegiate point, for the game's only goal during the first 63 minutes. The Cougars knotted the game in the 64th minute, but junior Sara Dimick (Cumberland, ME/Greely) tallied 4:34 later off Clarke's helper. The hosts drew even once again off of a penalty corner with time expired to set up Clarke's heroics. Dimick assisted the game-winner. Senior goalie Mary Catherine Boll (Columbus, IN/Miss Porter's School) stopped six shots.

At Springfield, ranked 16th by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), Wheaton held even with the Pride at halftime, as junior Lyndsie Ryalls (Branford, CT/Branford) tallied off of direct corner assists by Dimick and sophomore Alisa Ardito (Branford, CT/Branford) just 4:53 after Springfield opened the scoring. However, the Pride broke the stalemate with three goals during a 7:14 span early in the second half. Alfiero deposited her first collegiate tally with 3:59 left on senior Rachel Sminkey's (White River Junction, VT/Hartford) assist. Boll made 14 saves.

Wheaton needs one more win to match the program record set in 1983 and 1991, while one more conference victory would allow the Lyons to meet the 1995 team's mark. Ryalls remains second in program history for career points (57), and she moved into a tie for second in goals (22) and sits fourth in assists (13). Dimick became the seventh Lyon with 50 points and is third in assists (14), tied for sixth in points and is tied for ninth in goals (18). Sminkey is tied for ninth in goals (18) and tied for 10th in points (44), while Ardito is tied for fifth in assists (12). Clarke is three assists shy of matching Cara Collins' '02 career record of 19. Boll needs one win to match Maribeth Burke's '87 single-season record (13).

Goalkeeper Boll Draws First NEWMAC Honor of Career

Boll earned the first NEWMAC weekly honor of her career, drawing co-player-of-the-week laurels for the week ending on Sunday, October 8. The senior keeper was honored for her role in the Lyons' 2-0 victory over Babson College on October 3, a win which snapped the Blue and White's eight-game losing streak against the Beavers. Boll made seven saves while backstopping the Lyons to their first shutout of Babson since the 1991 New England Women's 8 (NEW 8) Tournament, their first home win over the Beavers since 1996 and their first series victory since 1998.

Men's Soccer (9-3-3, 3-1) Pushes Unbeaten Streak to Eight, Pachniuk Breaks Wins Record

The Wheaton College men's soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to eight games, while senior keeper Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) tied and then broke the program's career victories mark with his 50th and 51st wins. The Lyons, who are tied for 10th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) New England poll, topped host Salve Regina University, 3-1 on Tuesday before picking up a 4-3 victory against visiting Worcester State College on Friday.

Wheaton improved to 13-0-1 all time against the Seahawks as Pachniuk matched Jon Girolamo's '98 career wins record. Senior Ariel Tatum (Cayman Islands, BWI/Holderness School) and sophomore Justin Hart (Ashland, MA/Ashland) tallied 33 seconds apart early in the game, while sophomore Mathurin Coulibaly (Ivory Coast, Africa/Saint George's School) scored with 15 minutes remaining. Freshman Tyler Ostholthoff (Hopkinton, NH/Hopkinton) assisted Coulibaly for his first collegiate point. Pachniuk finished with one save.

Pachniuk broke Girolamo's record during a wild non-conference victory against Worcester State. With just 1:27 expired, sophomore Dan Lane (Dedham, MA/Worcester Academy) buried his 10th goal off Tatum's assist, but the visitors drew even 2:33 later. The Lancers scored at 15:20, but the Lyons knotted the score 1:58 later on the first of two straight goals by senior Cameron Habib (Norfolk, MA/Bridgton Academy). Habib scored again at 27:10 after entering the contest with two goals in 34 games as an upperclassman. Freshman Brian Harris-McTigue (Brooklyn, NY/The Beacon School) scored 3:02 before halftime for a 4-2 Lyon lead. In just his fourth collegiate game, Harris-McTigue netted what proved to be the game-winner on his first career goal. Pachniuk finished with three saves.

Pachniuk, who is tied with Girolamo for the program's career shutouts record of 26, pushed his season wins total to seven this fall after recording 10 as a junior, 16 as a sophomore and 18 his freshman year. Lane tallied his 23rd career goal, moving past Jeremy Long '99 and alone into ninth in program history. He's seven points short of 10th at Wheaton, and he needs two goals to become the second Lyon with a dozen goals in more than one season.

Women's Soccer (14-1, 6-0) Extends Winning Streak to 11 During 2-0 Week

The Wheaton College women's soccer team, ranked 11th nationally and second in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), extended its winning streak to 11 behind a pair of NEWMAC wins last week. The Lyons downed United States Coast Guard Academy, 4-0 on Tuesday before knocking off Clark University, 3-0 on Saturday. The Blue and White extended its NEWMAC unbeaten streak to 70 and is closing in on the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point (72) for the second-longest conference unbeaten run in NCAA soccer history, regardless of division or gender.

Sophomore Angelamaria Viscomi (Newton, MA/Newton North) scored twice in the first 16:36 at Coast Guard. Junior Katelyn Brack (Lake Oswego, OR/Oregon Episcopal) and freshman Chloe Truglio (Berlin, CT/Kingswood-Oxford School) tallied second-half goals for Wheaton, with Truglio's going down as her first in college. Junior Elana Cockburn (Chestnut Hill, MA/Brookline) and freshman Abby Isaac (Larchmont, NY/Proctor Academy) combined for three saves between the pipes.

Against visiting Clark, junior Ashley Furr's (Chicopee, MA/Cathedral) first goal of the season, 13:01 into the contest, proved to be the game-winner. Junior Lauren Konopka (Medford, NJ/Holy Cross) and sophomore Jamie Smith (Kensington, CT/Saint Paul Catholic) added second-half tallies, while Cockburn and junior Stacey Kronenberg (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown) totaled three stops.

Konopka netted her 36th career goal during the Clark game, and she's now four points shy of becoming the sixth Lyon to record 100 in a career. She's currently sixth in each career points (96) and goals (36), and Konopka's 24 assists place her 10th at Wheaton. Junior Jenna Rabesa (Teaticket, MA/Falmouth) is eighth in both goals (25) and points (75), and she's tied for eighth with 25 helpers.

Women's Tennis (7-4, 3-4) Finishes Regular Season with Third Straight NEWMAC Loss

The Wheaton College women's tennis team fell for the third straight outing and by a 5-4 score for the second straight match following a loss during its regular season finale at Babson College on Saturday. The Lyons locked up the sixth seed in the NEWMAC Tournament, which Wheaton will host beginning on Saturday, October 28.

Wheaton dropped two of three doubles matches and was never able to fully recover, as senior Darby McDermott (Briarcliff Manor, NY/Hackley School) and junior Briana Jackson (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) combined to win at the second position for the Lyons' lone point. During singles action, McDermott, senior Jamie Weiss (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker School) and junior Maya Milic-Strkalj (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central School) were each victorious.

Women's Volleyball (2-22, 1-5) Goes 0-3, Liesman Reaches 2,000-Assist Plateau

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team went 0-3 last week, but senior Alexis Liesman (Winchester, CA/West Valley) provided the Lyons' highlight by becoming the fourth player in program history to record 2,000 career assists. The Blue and White fell against visiting Wellesley College, 3-0 (22-30, 20-30, 18-30) on Tuesday before losing twice during a home tri-match on Saturday. Wheaton succumbed to Lasell College, 3-1 (30-28, 24-30, 26-30, 29-31) before falling against Plymouth State University, 3-1 (23-30, 22-30, 30-22, 28-30).

The Lyons fell in three games to the Blue, which was ranked 10th regionally by the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA). Senior Katie Dooley (Carpinteria, CA/Cate School) notched eight kills and seven digs, while Liesman provided 14 assists. Senior Allison Reichentahl (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) had 12 digs, and sophomore Sarah Oster (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) tallied six.

Against Lasell, senior Ashley Emerson (Ashford, CT/E.O. Smith) posted 14 kills and five service aces, Dooley recorded a dozen kills, and senior Tonia Smith (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton) notched nine kills, eight digs and three blocks. Reichentahl contributed 18 digs, and Oster corralled 12. Liesman finished with 36 assists, while freshman Lauren Smith (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) had eight assists and seven digs during only one game of action.

Tonia Smith notched 14 kills versus Plymouth State, while Dooley added seven kills and seven digs. Reichentahl had 22 digs, Oster added 12, and Liesman finished with 25 assists and eight digs. During the match, Liesman recorded her 2,000th career assist, becoming the first Lyon to reach the plateau since Darcey Vertuca '04 as a junior in 2002.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 2/8/08.
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