2003 NCAA WOMEN'S SOCCER NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL - Wheaton defeats Amherst, 3-2 and captures second straight New England title

November 16, 2003

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's soccer team captured its second consecutive New England championship Sunday afternoon, as the number-one ranked Lyons posted a thrilling 3-2 victory over 14th-ranked Amherst College at the NCAA Division III New England Regional Tournament held at Mirrione Stadium. Collecting its 19th straight win of the season, Wheaton advances to the national quarterfinal round and will meet The College of New Jersey on Saturday, November 22 at a site and time that has yet to be determined.

Winners in 58 of their last 59 contests at Mirrione, the Blue and White avenged their 2001 NCAA Tournament semifinal round loss to Amherst and in the process tied their all-time single-season win mark with 23 victories. The Lyons improve to 23-1 overall, while the Jeffs had their 11-game unbeaten streak snapped and finish their season at 12-4-4. This year's NCAA Tournament appearance marked Amherst's seventh since 1994.

Wheaton opened today's contest with multiple scoring opportunities, led by a quality chance from senior All-America forward Tracy Prihoda (Needham, MA/Needham) in the first two minutes. Finding open space in the goal box, Prihoda fired a shot from point-blank range, but Amherst goalie Jeanette Crowell (San Rafael, CA/Marin Academy) was there to make the clutch save. Following an Erin Brennan (Mesa, AZ/Xavier College Prep) header that fell to the left of the goal, Prihoda, Brennan and junior All-America back Erin Duffy (E. Longmeadow, MA/E. Longmeadow) all had open looks at the net, only to see their shots sail over the crossbar. Amherst's first shot on net didn't take place until the 20th minute.

The Lyons finally found the back of the net at the 27:22 minute mark, when a streaking Prihoda managed to get behind the Jeff defense. Taking a perfectly-placed pass from freshman Jordan Pouliot (Manchester, NH/Trinity), Prihoda dribbled to her right and then used the outside of her right foot to place her shot into the bottom right corner of the net.

Just five minutes later, Amherst knotted the contest at a goal apiece, ending Wheaton's streak of 657 scoreless minutes. The Lyons had posted six straight shutouts entering today's contest. Junior Tracy Montigny (East Granby, CT/East Granby) had the goal, while classmate Ashley Harmeling (N. Reading, MA/Harvard) shattered the school's single-season points record with the assist. On the play, Wheaton goalie Jessica Broomhead (Barrington, RI/Barrington) appeared to have the ball covered but forward progress pushed her out of the box, giving possession to the Jeffs. Amherst quickly took advantage, as Harmeling served Montigny the ball before Broomhead had time to return to the net.

The Lyons retook the lead on a free kick twenty seconds before the intermission. Junior Beth Caromile (Warwick, RI/Pilgrim) tapped the restart to senior Christy McHugh (Salem, MA/Bishop Fenwick), who in turn left it for sophomore Teresa LeBel (Middleton, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon). LeBel drove her shot into the upper right netting for the 2-1 edge.

In the second half, the Jeffs again tied the game just over seven minutes into the stanza, as Montigny managed to spin off a Wheaton defender, face the net and strike a perfectly-placed left-footed shot to the upper right corner of the net. Until today, the Lyons hadn't allowed more than a goal in one game all season.

The score remained tied at two goals apiece until the closing minutes of the half, when Prihoda took a rebound off the post from a Caromile shot and in turn buried the ball out of the reach of Crowell for the game-winning goal in the 86th minute. Wheaton then managed to keep the ball out of its own end in the final four minutes, allowing time to expire to secure the victory. Broomhead finished with seven saves for the Lyons, while Crowell recorded six stops in the loss. Wheaton outshot Amherst, 29-13 with a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.

Box Score

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/31/07.
Questions about this page? Use our query form.

News Headlines

[an error occurred while processing this directive]