Field Hockey Falls to Wheaton

Chris Kendrick (@CKendrick86)

CHICOPEE, Mass. – The Elms College field hockey squad kept the game close in the first half, but a three-goal spurt from visiting Wheaton College sent the Lyons to a 5-0 win over the Blazers in a non-conference matchup at Leary Field Thursday night.

In the sixth minute of play, Wheaton College drew first blood as sophomore forward Darcy Bruce (Walpole, Mass.) gathered a loose ball in front of the Elms goal, and snuck a shot past Blazers junior goalkeeper Samantha Alvino (Holtsville, N.Y.), to give the Lyons an early 1-0 lead.

With 17:46 to play in the first half, Alvino denied the initial shot from Wheaton senior forward Tracy McCann (Westerly, R.I.), but the rebound trickled to Lyons senior midfielder Sarah McNicholas (Concord, Mass.), who delivered a shot into the back of the net, extending the Wheaton advantage to 2-0. The Lyons took their 2-0 lead into halftime.

Less than seven minutes into the second half, Bruce pushed the Wheaton lead to 3-0 as she knocked home a rebound off a shot from McNicholas. In the 59^th minute, The Lyons put the game away as sophomore midfielder Amelia Gage (Lebanon, N.H.) recorded a put back goal. The final strike from Wheaton came with 3:54 remaining on a goal from freshman midfielder Emma Peterson (Yarmouth, Maine), to give the Lyons a 5-0 win over the Blazers.

Wheaton controlled the shot column against Elms, 27-4, during the game, and 11-1 in penalty corners. Alvino made a game-high 15 saves for the Blazers, while Wheaton starting goalie senior Madison Wolters stopped the lone shot she faced.

The Blazers move to 2-10 overall, while Wheaton improved to 8-5 on the season. Elms will look to move into the win column when they travel to Becker College for their New England Collegiate Conference opener Saturday afternoon. Faceoff is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

ELMS FIELD HOCKEY