Women's Soccer (16-5-2, 7-1-1) Advances to 10th Straight Title Game, Earns NCAA Bid

The Wheaton College women's soccer team, which is ranked sixth in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), went 1-1 last week, advancing to the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship game for the 10th straight season before earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The second-seeded Lyons clipped number-six Clark University, 1-0 in a Saturday semifinal at top-seeded Springfield College before losing to the Pride, 2-1 on an overtime penalty kick on Sunday in the title game. On Monday, Wheaton was selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight season, as the Lyons will face Eastern University on Saturday in the first round at Rowan University in New Jersey. The second round occurs Sunday, with the winner of the four-team bracket advancing to the sectional round.

The Blue and White outshot Clark, 13-2, and received the lone goal of the game from sophomore back Alessia Viscomi (Newton, MA/Newton North) with 1:02 remaining in regulation. Midway through the second half, Viscomi also prevented a Cougar goal in support of freshman keeper Lindsay Leddy (Warwick, RI/Wheeler School), who made one save.

Springfield snapped Wheaton's 26-game NEWMAC Tournament unbeaten streak, which stretched back to 2000, by tallying on a penalty kick 3:59 into overtime after Lyon sophomore Melida Alvarez (Saugus, MA/Buckingham Browne & Nichols) had knotted the contest with just 3:49 to go in regulation. Wheaton was outshot by a 15-12 count but held an 11-10 advantage during the second half and overtime combined. Leddy made seven saves.

Alvarez is seventh in program history in goals (37) and eighth in points (81), while sophomore Emily Hough (Norwich, VT/Hanover) is 10th in each points (77) and goals (27). Hough's 11 assists this year leave her one shy of the program's single-season top 10, and her 37 points are three short of the top 10. In her past 16 contests, Hough played a role in 21 of Wheaton's 35 goals, scoring 10 times and handing out 11 assists. Leddy is tied for fourth in shutouts (10) and tied for seventh in wins (13), as each figure is tied for second in program history among freshman keepers.