Box Score WENHAM, Mass.—Eight first-half goals was enough to push visiting Wheaton (Mass.) past Gordon Women's Lacrosse on a chilly Thursday night. The Lyons took advantage of a short-handed starting lineup for the Scots and controlled the game from the very start in a dominant 12-5 non-conference showing.
With Endicott on the docket, keeper Danielle Maguire (Braintree, Mass.) got a night off from her net-minding duties. Junior Julianne Kirkpatrick (Rochester, N.Y.) got the nod in goal and was immediately tested by the high-scoring attack from Wheaton.
The Lyons controlled the opening draw control and played a wait-and-see game, while figuring out the Scots' defensive alignment. Wheaton played keep away from the Gordon defense and waited until an opportunity finally arose. Brooke Sabol found Allie Bush cutting in front of the goal from the left side and Bush easily finished for the score.
Gordon answered on the other end when Stephanie Fitzgerald (Groveland, Mass.) tossed the ball over the top of the defense into the cradle of Anna Blomberg (Simsbury, Conn.) The senior attacker took one step toward goal and fired the ball into the twine to tie the score at one.
Once again the Lyons attack waited patiently until a cutter broke free of their mark. Sabol took the ball behind the net and found Leila Mills for an identical score as the Lyons' first goal, making it 2-1. Gordon didn't wait long to counter with sophomore Bailey Grinnell (South Hamilton, Mass.) finishing off a Fitzgerald dime with 19 minutes to play in the first half.
The rest of the first period was dominated by the Lyons. Mills tallied three more goals in the half and three other Wheaton attackers notched a goal to break open the game at halftime, 8-2.
The Lyons began the second half the way the ended it when Melanie Sharick found the net for the second time just 27 ticks into the period. Gordon's Grinnell become Gordon's focal point on offense in the second stanza, scoring two goals within a minute of each other to close Wheaton's lead to five with 24 minutes to play.
Wheaton regained control of the momentum with a three-goal stretch to open its largest lead of eight scores. Jessica Castelline (Concord, Mass.) scored a goal with just over a minute remaining to end the game at 12-5 in the Lyons' favor.
Mills and Sharick were the story for Wheaton with each tallying at least a hat-trick. Mills' provided the Lyons with a season-high six points, including five goals, which puts her at 30 for the season. Keeper Katy Ananian improved to 6-5 on the year, making two saves.
Gordon's tandem of Kirkpatrick and freshman Holly O'Brien (Newtown, Pa.) combined to make seven saves in the loss. Grinnell provided a majority of Gordon's offense with a hat-trick, while Fitzgerald assisted two goals despite only playing in the first half.
The Fighting Scots (8-2) prepare for Saturday's big rivalry game with Endicott, which begins at noon in Beverly.
