Weekly Lyon

Field Hockey (13-5, 5-2) Ties Program's Victories Marks During 1-1 Week

The Wheaton College field hockey team tied the program's overall (13) and conference (5) wins records during a 1-1 week against New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) competition, first falling by a 2-1 score to visiting Wellesley College on Tuesday before downing host Mount Holyoke College, 4-0 on Saturday. The Blue and White clinched the third seed in the NEWMAC Tournament, which begins this Saturday, and will play host to a first round for the first time since the 1997 season. The Lyons also won 13 games in 1991 and 1983 while corralling five league victories one other time, in 1995 as members of the New England Women's Eight (NEW 8).

Against Wellesley, the Lyons scored just 2:31 into the contest to take an early lead. Senior Shea Clarke (Bellingham, MA/Bellingham) ripped a shot from outside the circle that sophomore Alisa Ardito (Branford, CT/Branford) tipped in, but the Blue knotted the contest off a penalty corner sequence after time expired in the first half. Wellesley scored the game-winner 7:26 into the second period. Senior Mary Catherine Boll (Columbus, IN/Miss Porter's School) turned aside seven shots.

At Mount Holyoke, junior Sara Dimick (Cumberland, ME/Greely) netted her second hat trick this season. Dimick converted off of touches by Clarke, senior Rachel Sminkey (White River Junction, VT/Hartford) and Ardito in the 7th, 29th and 45th minutes, respectively. Sophomore Lauren Henderson (Marblehead, MA/Newman School) redirected a Clarke blast in the 43rd minute, as Clarke tied Cara Collins' '02 program record with her 19th career assist. Boll made 10 stops in nearly 61 minutes to tie Maribeth Burke's '87 single-season wins mark (13) set in 1983. Sophomore Jackie Riccio (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury) stopped two shots in the final nine minutes.

Dimick continues to climb Wheaton's top-10 lists, as her 42 points and 16 goals are four and five short, respectively, of single-season school records Maureen Reynolds '88 established in 1987. Dimick also rose to third in career points (56) and into a tie for fourth in goals (21). Sminkey ascended into 10th in points (45) with her assist, while Ardito moved into a tie for fourth in helpers (13).

Men's Soccer (10-4-3, 4-1) Moves Into First Place in NEWMAC During 1-1 Week

The Wheaton College men's soccer team moved into first place in the NEWMAC during a 1-1 week and controls its own destiny in looking to win at least a share of its third consecutive regular season title and host its fourth conference tournament in six years. The Lyons, who are ranked eighth in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), fell to Bowdoin College, 2-0 on Monday before downing Babson College, 2-1 on Saturday. Wheaton needs a win or tie against visiting Clark University this Saturday to clinch the league title. Head coach Matt Cushing is two wins shy of 200 for his career, while the Lyons have reached the 10-win plateau for the 15th straight year.

Bowdoin, which is ranked sixth regionally, snapped host Wheaton's eight-game unbeaten streak by scoring twice in the final 15 minutes. The Polar Bears, who tallied during the 75th and 81st minutes, narrowly outshot the Lyons, 11-9, as senior Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) made four saves.

At Babson, which is tied for 10th regionally, the Lyons received goals from a pair of seniors. Ariel Tatum (Cayman Islands, BWI/Holderness School) scored off a free kick from 50 yards out during the 14th minute to put Wheaton on top, and Dennis Durao (West Hartford, CT/Northwest Catholic) netted his first collegiate game-winner during the 58th minute off classmate Cameron Habib's (Norfolk, MA/Bridgton Academy) assist. Habib provided his helper less than five minutes after making a goal line stop in aid of Pachniuk, who stopped eight shots.

Women's Soccer (17-1, 8-0) Clinches NEWMAC Title, Climbs NCAA Streak List

The Wheaton College women's soccer team, ranked 10th nationally and second in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), had an eventful 3-0 road swing last week, knocking off Babson College by a 1-0 final on Tuesday, Gordon College with a 2-0 score on Thursday, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) by a 5-1 count on Saturday. Meanwhile, junior Lauren Konopka (Medford, NJ/Holy Cross) became the sixth Lyon to record 100 career points.

Besides clinching their eighth consecutive NEWMAC regular season crown, the Lyons extended their conference unbeaten streak to 72 games, matching the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point women (1997-2003) for second in NCAA soccer history, regardless of division or gender. The Lyons also pushed their overall winning streak to 14 games, tied for fifth longest in program history, and will hold down the NEWMAC Tournament's top seed while hosting a first round game on Saturday.

Freshman Rosie Levy (Torrance, CA/Chadwick School) tallied the lone goal against Babson, converting passes from Konopka and sophomore Angelamaria Viscomi (Newton, MA/Newton North) 14:16 into the contest. Juniors Elana Cockburn (Chestnut Hill, MA/Brookline) and Stacey Kronenberg (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown) split time in net and combined for seven saves.

In Wheaton's first meeting with Gordon, senior Bridget Furlong's (Newburyport, MA/Newburyport) fourth goal of the season 3:45 into the contest went down as the game-winner. Freshmen Lyndsey McManus (Marshfield, MA/Marshfield) and Katie Watson (Langley, WA/South Whidbey) assisted Furlong's third career game-winning marker. Junior Jenna Rabesa (Teaticket, MA/Falmouth) doubled the Lyons' lead in the 51st minute after corralling the rebound of Konopka's initial shot. Cockburn and Kronenberg had one save apiece during 45 minutes of action.

Konopka reached the 100-point plateau against WPI as one of five scorers, netting a 48th-minute tally to put her at 100. Levy and Viscomi each provided a goal and an assist, while sophomore Bailey Edwards (Austin, TX/Saint Stephen's Episcopal School) and freshman Kathleen Carroll (New Paltz, NY/New Paltz Central) also scored. Kronenberg made three saves, and Cockburn stopped two shots.

During the week, Konopka not only moved within seven points and five goals of fifth in each career category at Wheaton, but she and Rabesa are now tied for eighth in assists (26). Rabesa pushed into a tie for seventh in points (78), while junior Ashley Furr (Chicopee, MA/Cathedral) became the 12th Lyon to notch her 20th career helper.

Women's Tennis (7-4, 3-4) Sends Five to NEWITT Tournament as Three Notch Victories

The Wheaton College women's tennis team had five athletes compete in the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament (NEWITT) over the weekend at Amherst College, where three picked up singles victories. Wheaton is set to host the NEWMAC Tournament this coming Saturday and Sunday. The sixth-seeded Blue and White open competition Saturday morning against third-seeded Mount Holyoke College, which bounced Wheaton from the 2005 tournament.

Senior Jamie Weiss (Chicago, IL/Francis W. Parker School), junior Maya Milic-Strkalj (Philadelphia, PA/Friends' Central School) and sophomore Mallory Farmer (Washington, CT/The Gunnery) each picked up singles wins. After receiving a bye in the first round of the second flight, Weiss notched a second-round win before dropping a decision to the second seed during the quarterfinals. At fifth and sixth singles, respectively, Milic-Strkalj and Farmer each earned first-round victories. Junior Briana Jackson (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) and freshman Katherine Knies (Purdys, NY/North Salem) also competed in singles play at the first and fourth positions, respectively.

Women's Volleyball (4-25, 2-5) Downs Pair of NEWMAC Foes During 2-3 Week

The Wheaton College women's volleyball team produced a pair of victories over NEWMAC opponents, one of which came in league play, during a 2-3 week. On Friday, senior Allison Reichentahl (Cheshire, CT/Cheshire) became the 12th Lyon to reach the 1,000-career-digs milestone.

The Lyons downed host Babson College, 3-1 (30-15, 30-24, 23-30, 30-25) on Tuesday before the Blue and White took part in four matches at the Hall of Fame Tournament over the weekend. In a pair of Friday matches at Amherst College, the Lyons first suffered a 3-0 (14-30, 13-30, 15-30) loss to the Lord Jeffs, the region's top-ranked team according to the New England Women's Volleyball Association (NEWVA), before dropping a 3-1 (20-30, 30-27, 18-30, 17-30) decision to Colby College. On Saturday at Mount Holyoke College, Wheaton downed the hosts by a 3-2 (25-30, 30-22, 30-28, 29-31, 18-16) final before succumbing to Gordon College, 3-0 (20-30, 22-30, 25-30).

At Babson, Wheaton snapped a 12-match losing streak to remain in contention for its 20th consecutive conference tournament by staying among the league's top eight teams. Senior Katie Dooley (Carpinteria, CA/Cate School) turned in 12 kills, 13 digs and seven service aces, while classmate Ashley Emerson (Ashford, CT/E.O. Smith) accounted for eight kills and four blocks. Senior Alexis Liesman (Winchester, CA/West Valley) notched 21 assists, and Reichentahl added 21 digs.

Against Amherst, Dooley notched 12 kills, Liesman accounted for 20 assists, and Reichentahl had 18 digs. Reichentahl surpassed the digs milestone against Colby with 28, while senior Tonia Smith (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton), freshman Marianne Honeycutt (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Ludlowe) and Dooley tallied 10, eight and seven kills, respectively. Liesman finished with 29 assists.

At Mount Holyoke, Smith contributed 18 kills, Dooley racked up 14 and sophomore Liana Merrill (Northwood, NH/Coe-Brown Northwood Academy) added 13. Freshman Lauren Smith (Bar Harbor, ME/Mount Desert Island) notched 27 assists, while Liesman had 21 helpers and four service aces. Reichentahl amassed 26 digs, and sophomore Sarah Oster (Lincoln, RI/Lincoln) added 22 digs. In the finale against Gordon, Dooley recorded eight kills and seven digs, Tonia Smith posted seven kills, and Liesman had 21 assists and four service aces. Reichentahl finished with 17 digs.

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