BENNINGTON, Vt. — A solid first half saw Southern Vermont College let Wheelock College into the net just once in the period Saturday afternoon as the hosting Mountaineers took a six-goal lead at intermission; SVC then closed out a 12-6 New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) women's lacrosse win at Everett Field.
SVC went in front 4-0 midway through the opening 30 minutes before the Wildcats got on the scoresheet. Southern Vermont would add two more goals in the frame and then went up 11-2 halfway through the second stanza. WC made a late push with three unanswered goals, but time ran out on Wheelock for the Mountaineers to seize their first home win of the season.
Southern Vermont improves to 3-1 in NECC play (3-8 overall) while WC drops to 7-6 on the year and 2-2 against the league.
The six Wheelock goals is the fewest total SVC has ever allowed in a single game, topping the previous mark of eight that the Southern Vermont defense had posted twice before.
The Mountaineers are back on Everett Field Monday for a 4:30 p.m. NECC match against top-standing Regis College, a team that is undefeated in league play this year and has won its last 21 regular season Conference games. Wheelock takes back to the road on Monday, visiting Becker College for a 4 p.m. league start.
SVC junior captain Mel Orrell (Gloucester, Mass.) tied her season-high with a game-best seven goals, adding a day-high eight draw controls to set a new career-best; with her match performance, Orrell is tied for the fourth-most goals scored by an NECC player this year and ranks second in scores against league opponents (20).
Fellow junior captain Emily Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.) had another three goals, three caused turnovers and a team-best six ground balls. Junior captain Lauren Nesshoever (Chittenden, Vt.) added the other two Southern Vermont goals while notching an assist and a pair of ground balls, and freshman Aubrey Vierstra (Saugerties, N.Y.) registered two caused turnovers and two ground balls in the win.
Mountaineer sophomore keeper Kelsey Carrera (Queensbury, N.Y.) collected the win (2-3) from between the pipes, making three saves on the day. Sophomore counterpart Carina Lawrence (Andover, Mass.) also made three stops while suffering the loss (3-1).
Wheelock senior captain Emma Marrs (Old Lyme, Conn.) scored twice for the Wildcats, adding an assist and two ground balls to her line. Sophomore Katie Frade (Dartmouth, Mass.) tallied a goal, two caused turnovers and a game-best eight ground balls, and freshman Colleen Macdonald (Sandwich, Mass.) had a goal, four ground balls and three draw controls in the effort.
WC freshman Georgia Schindele (Sparkill, N.Y.) put home a score while snagging three draw controls, and freshman Alex Clark (Oak Bluffs, Mass.) scooped up four ground balls to go with her two caused turnovers.
SVC took a 12-8 advantage on the draw as the hosts outshot Wheelock by a 30-15 margin. The Mountaineers collected a 28-23 upper hand in ground balls while both teams had 16 successful clears and two free-position goals.
Southern Vermont appeared to get on the board in just the second minute of the game as Nessheover looked to have ripped an overhand shot into the top-left corner, but play carried on as the call was made that the ball didn't cross the line. SVC would still strike first when Orrell took a pass near the midfield and carried it all the way to the net, weaving through the Wheelock defense before ripping a left-handed shot into the right side of the goal at the 20:21 mark.
The Mountaineers would add to their lead just over a minute later as Orrell tallied her second of the day, this time grabbing the ball from her own restraining line and taking it the distance before slotting a shot into the upper-right corner. Nesshoever helped the cause with 16:37 to go in the half, taking a pass from freshman Hailee Walker (Cohoes, N.Y.) right in front of the net and bouncing it past the Wildcat keeper to make it a 3-0 game.
Orrell then got her hat-trick off the ensuing draw control, scooping it up and taking it to the top of the crease where she flipped a left-handed shot into the upper-right corner of the cage. After a scoreless eight minutes, Wheelock ended the shutout with its first tally of the day, freshman Alexa Mellis (East Longmeadow, Mass.) getting a bouncing free-position shot to go from the right edge for her seventh goal of the year.
Orrell pushed it back to a four-goal difference with 4:01 left in the opening half, centering herself from the left side of the pitch and discarding a shot inside the right post to make it a 5-1 contest. Lesure would pad the Mountaineer cushion with her first of the day coming at the 2:33 mark, scooping up a loose ball in front of the WC net and quickly flipping it past the keeper. The five-goal lead would last through the waning minutes as the hosts brought it into halftime.
After a scoreless five minutes started the second stanza, Orrell notched her fifth of the day on a free-position opportunity to extend the upper hand, using a pretty backhanded shot to make the most of a tough angle on the right side. Wheelock would get it back just minutes later after being patient in the attacking zone as Schindele took a pass at the top of the fan and carried it straight up the gut before slipping her 27th of the season into the lower-right corner of the frame.
Nesshoever would have an answer, however, collecting a pass at the left edge and shoveling it into the back of the net for her 18th goal of the year. Orrell then tallied her sixth of the game, putting her team up by seven with another free-position goal being sent into the lower part of the frame to make it a 9-2 contest.
Lesure added her second of the game with 17:46 to play, snagging a loose ball in front of the net and getting an over-the-head, swooping shot to go. She followed with another just under a minute later as Nesshoever passed her the ball from behind the net for the great assist, Lesure's 18th of the year putting her team up by nine.
Southern Vermont got some clock assistance from a three-minute long Wheelock clear, but the Wildcats proved it to be fruitful as Marrs took the ball over the SVC restraining line and potted her 30th score of the season. Orrell would cap her day with her team-leading 39th goal of the year, scoring with a Mountaineer in the penalty area as she brought the ball from below the goal line on the left side of the net and fired it past the WC keeper for Southern Vermont to go ahead 12-3.
Wheelock pushed hard down the stretch to get back in it, Frade getting her fifth goal of the year to go as she bounced a free-position shot from the top of the fan into the back of the net with 7:18 remaining. Marrs got her team even closer with her 31st of the 2016 campaign, popping out from behind the right side of the goal and tossing a left-handed shot into the top-left corner of the cage.
Marrs then reeled in the subsequent draw control and, while swinging behind the net, found a cutting Macdonald at the top of the fan; Macdonald made the quick catch-and-shoot, putting home her 20th goal on the year to get Wheelock within six.
That would be the closest the visitors could get, however, as the Southern Vermont defense was able to reject the Wildcats from having any more quality looks at goal. The Mountaineers chewed up time when in possession, finishing off their first win on their home field this year.