Weekly Lyon

Men's Soccer (17-3-2, 5-1-0) Advances to NCAA Sectional with 3-2 Victory at Babson

The Wheaton College men's soccer team, ranked fifth in New England according to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), exploded for three first-half goals in the first 11:35 of the game at New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Babson College Sunday, as the Lyons defeated the 24th-ranked Beavers, 3-2 in NCAA Division III Tournament second round action in Babson Park. Competing in their fifth NCAA Tournament, the Lyons advance to Saturday's sectional semifinal to face Geneseo State University at St. Lawrence University at 1:30 p.m.

Improving its NCAA Tournament all-time record to 7-2-3, Wheaton wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Sophomore Andrew Smith (West Hartford, CT/Hall) made his first career goal a memorable one, as he headed in a Dan Chong (Miami, FL/Coral Reef) pass 6:07 into the game. Not even three minutes later, senior Barry Finnerty (Milton, MA/Beaver Country Day) struck a beautifully-placed free kick into the upper left corner of the net for the quick 2-0 advantage. In the 12th minute, classmate Matt Ristuccia (Newton, MA/Newton North) dribbled through the Beaver defense and eventually past the Babson goalkeeper for his team-leading 12th goal of the season. The Beavers managed to salvage a goal with 18 seconds to play in the opening half. Babson retained possession in the second half, but a prevent defense by the Lyons denied any shots until the final 10 minutes of play. With 2:18 to go, the Beavers trimmed their deficit to one, but Wheaton's defense held Babson in check the rest of the way to secure the win. Sophomore goalie Matt Pachniuk (Newtown, CT/Newtown) accounted for four saves, including an impressive one-handed deflection on a free kick in the first half.

Women's Soccer (21-0-2, 8-0-1) Set to Play in NCAA Sectional Following Draw at Williams

The Wheaton College women's soccer team, ranked second in the country and first in New England according to the NSCAA, played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer Sunday afternoon, needing penalty kicks to eliminate the Williams College Ephs, 3-0 in the NCAA Division III Tournament second round game held in Williamstown. Wheaton will play Middlebury College in the sectional semifinal round game on Saturday, November 20 at Oneonta State University at 1:30 p.m.

The Lyons came out strong in the first half of play, outshooting the Ephs, 10-4 while accumulating three corner kick attempts. Freshman goalie Stacey Kronenberg (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown) made three of her six stops in the first stanza en route to capturing the Lyons' 21st shutout of the season, which ties the top spot in Division III women's soccer history for most shutouts in a season. Wheaton's 11th straight shutout also catapulted Kronenberg to seventh all-time in Division III history for most consecutive shutout minutes. Williams only managed five shots the rest of the game thanks in large part to the strong defensive play of senior co-captain Erin Duffy (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) and junior back Teresa LeBel (Middleton, MA/Northfield Mount Hermon). At the conclusion of the two overtimes, Wheaton outshot Williams, 22-9 with a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. The Ephs began the shootout by pushing the first shot wide of the goal before Duffy put the Lyons up 1-0. The Ephs faced a two-goal deficit after launching their second consecutive penalty kick wide, allowing freshman Katelyn Brack (Lake Oswego, OR/Oregon Episcopal) to give the Blue and White a 2-0 lead. Kronenberg nabbed Williams' third attempt, opening the door for LeBel to clinch the Wheaton victory with a shot into the right side of the netting.

Kronenberg Captures First NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week Honors

Kronenberg captured the first NEWMAC Player-of-the-Week award of her collegiate career for the week ending on Sunday, November 7. She helped lead Wheaton to its fifth consecutive NEWMAC Tournament championship with a pair of shutouts over Babson College and Smith College. Kronenberg currently leads the nation in goals against average.

Cross Country Sends Two Runners to National Championship Following Regional Meet

Senior All-America Stan Pyle (South Portland, ME/South Portland) and women's standout freshman Megan Brousseau (Attleboro, MA/Attleboro) both qualified for the national cross country meet Saturday afternoon, leading their teams at the NCAA Division III New England Championships held at the Twin Brooks Recreation Center in Cumberland, Maine. Hosted by the University of Southern Maine, the men's team finished 15th of 39 teams with 431 points and the women placed seventh out of 41 squads with 228 points. Pyle's eighth-place finish earns him his third appearance at the NCAA Division III Championship, while Brousseau's eighth-place showing notches Wheaton's first women's appearance at a national meet since 1986. Pyle and Brousseau will compete at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, site of this year's championship, on Saturday, November 20.

Pyle finished the five-mile course in 26:13, while freshman Alex Cook (Hanover, MA/Hanover) recorded the Lyons' second best time in 27:49. Junior Eric Richardson (East Walpole, MA/Bishop Feehan) crossed the finish line in 28:18, followed by classmate Ben Haber (Lincoln, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury) in 28:46. Brousseau's 22:06 tour of the 6,000-meter course led the women's team, whose finish topped all NEWMAC schools just weeks after the Blue and White edged Wellesley College to win their first conference title. Following closely behind Brousseau was senior co-captain Erin O'Brien (North Easton, MA/Oliver Ames) with a 21st-place finish in 22:52. Junior Kendra Leith (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional) crossed the line in 31st in 23:09, while Wheaton's fourth-best time belonged to senior Lindsay Whalen (Dedham, MA/Dedham) in 23:27.

Men's (2-1) and Women's (3-0) Swimming Hosts Double-Dual Meet with Babson and WPI

The Wheaton College men's and women's swimming and diving teams competed against New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schools Babson College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) Saturday afternoon in a double-dual meet at Balfour Natatorium. The men's team defeated WPI, 126-117 and fell to Babson, 125-109, while the women remained perfect after downing Babson, 149-76 and WPI, 162-67.

The women recorded 10 individual event victories and two relay wins, including a new school record by first-year Abby Pratt (Melrose, MA/Melrose), who notched a 1:02.26 finish in the 100-yard butterfly. Pratt also scored the top finish in the 50-yard freestyle in 25.30. Other multiple-event winners were junior Lauren Pcholinski (Old Saybrook, CT/Old Saybrook), who took the number-one spot in both the 500- and 1000-yard free events in 5:41.46 and 11:46.01, respectively, and freshman Meg Miller (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury), who completed the 100- and 200-yard free events in 55.99 and 2:03.02, respectively. First-year Elizabeth Slavin (Niskayuna, NY/Hyde School) also swept the one- and three-meter dives.

Other victors for the women included senior Amanda Berthelette (Milford, NH/Milford) in the 100-yard backstroke in 1:04.05 and sophomore Katie McNicholas (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxboro) in the 200-yard individual medley in 2:22.79. Berthelette joined forces with senior Blake Worrall (Duxbury, MA/Duxbury), sophomore Cassie Bohn (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa) and freshman Elizabeth McKay (Brewster, MA/Nauset Regional) to win the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1:59.21, while Worrall, Pratt, Miller and sophomore Kristen Behrens (Uxbridge, MA/Uxbridge) captured the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:48.22.

In men's action, the Lyons registered victories in three individual events and one relay, as sophomore co-captain Barrett Roberts (Portland, ME/Deering) won both the 50- and 100- yard freestyles with times of 21.89 and 48.63, respectively, while also playing part in Wheaton's top finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Combining with senior co-captain Chris Klinkow (Hollis, NH/Hollis-Brookline) and freshmen Ryan Patch (Lexington, MA/Lexington) and Yunuscan Tokcan (Providence, RI/Northfield Mount Hermon), the squad turned in a winning time of 3:29.14. Freshman Joe Fowler (Farmington, ME/Mount Blue) also picked up a win in the 1000-yard free in 10:50.94.

This page is maintained by Scott Dietz. Last updated on 1/30/07.
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