SPRINGFIELD, MA- Wheaton College junior keeper Andrea Bagley (Foxboro, MA/Foxboro) made 22 saves, and the second-seeded Lyons nearly weathered a relentless offensive attack by number-three Wellesley College before falling, 2-1 in overtime during a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal on Saturday at Springfield College's Brock-Affleck Field.

Wheaton, which led until yielding a goal with 2:40 to go in regulation and the winner 2:42 into overtime, was denied a spot in its initial conference postseason championship game since 1997. The Lyons saw their season end at 12-7, while the Blue is now 12-5 and will face top-seeded Springfield tomorrow in the championship game at 1:00 p.m.

For the second straight campaign, Wheaton fell in overtime during a NEWMAC Tournament semifinal to Wellesley but completed this season by qualifying for the semifinals for the third straight year, a program first. The Blue and White saw its six-game winning streak come to an end, falling for just the second time in 10 one-goal games this season.

Bagley finished with the most saves by a Lyon keeper since Emily Fiskio '06 made 25 on October 26, 2004, allowing only two goals despite the Blue holding advantages of 33-7 in shots and 17-3 in penalty corners. Wellesley senior keeper Emily Hewitt (Alexandria, VA/Saint Stephen's & Saint Agnes School) was the beneficiary after making six saves.

The teams were scoreless at halftime, at which point Wellesley had collected 11 of the game's 13 shots and four of its five corners. Midway through the stanza, Bagley turned away a breakaway chance before making a diving save off the rebound.

Just 6:59 into the second half, Lyon freshman Cara Cusson (Ashfield, MA/Mohawk Trail Regional) turned in the biggest goal of her young career, tallying on a breakaway for her sixth marker of the campaign. Classmate Bonnie Davies (Roxbury, CT/Shepaug Valley) made a defensive save soon thereafter at the goal line to preserve the lead. Wellesley later had an apparent goal negated during a sequence in which it earned a penalty corner.

Late in regulation, Wellesley's attack finally produced a goal, as sophomore Sally Scudder (Delafield, WI/Arrowhead Union) converted classmate Kathryn Frett's (Hallowell, ME/Hall-Dale) cross with less than three minutes to go. The Blue totaled advantages of 19-4 in shots and 12-2 in corners during the half, as Bagley made 12 saves.

The Blue had another goal called back early in the extra session, with the shot being deemed too high, but in the third minute junior Callie Lekas (Brewster, MA/Bancroft School) netted the winner.