Women's Lacrosse (6-7, 2-2) Snaps Skid, Breaks Even in NEWMAC with Win Over Smith

The Wheaton College women's lacrosse team went 1-2 at home last week, snapping a five-game losing streak by downing Smith College, 21-8 in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest on Saturday. The Lyons slipped against league counterpart Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 7-3 on Tuesday before falling to non-conference foe Western New England College, 17-14 on Thursday. Wheaton is tied for fourth in the NEWMAC standings with two games left, as the top four seeds in the league tournament each host at least one postseason contest. During the week, senior Caitlin Grant (Walpole, MA/Walpole) scored her 100th career goal, while classmate Bridget Thornton (Southington, CT/Cheshire Academy) reached the 100-point plateau.

In a defensive struggle, Grant scored each of the Lyons' three goals during a setback against MIT. Sophomore Marianna Marcellino (Milton, MA/Thayer Academy) made 15 stops between the pipes.

Wheaton's offense reappeared against the Golden Bears, but the hosts were unable to completely overcome a seven-goal deficit. Senior Madeline Williams (Annapolis, MD/Key School) and junior Chrissy Norberg (Winchester, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon School) each tallied four goals, while Grant turned in a hat trick and an assist. Junior Hanna Landis (Cape Elizabeth, ME/Cape Elizabeth) notched a marker and a helper, and Marcellino made nine saves.

In their regular season home finale, the Lyons were never threatened by Smith, gaining a 5-0 lead a little more than seven minutes into the contest. Grant totaled a career-high eight goals, Thornton finished with three goals and two assists, while Norberg had a hat trick and one helper. Sophomore Emma Doyle (Hamden, CT/Hamden) scored twice in her first game of 2009 after missing time with an injury, while freshman Hannah Ferris (Rye, NH/Portsmouth) tallied a pair of goals. Williams turned in three assists, and Marcellino made eight stops.

Thornton is tied for fifth in program history in career assists (41) and is seventh in draw controls (98), while her 18 helpers this year are fifth in a season at Wheaton and are the most by a Lyon since 2004. Grant is ninth in career goals (103), while senior Abbie Sherwin (Rye, NH/Portsmouth) is 10th in draw controls (85). Grant has 118 career points in 56 games, while Thornton has 102 points in 62 games.