Field Hockey Edged by Wheaton in Overtime, 3-2

NORTON, Mass. -- Senior midfielder Sarah McNicholas (Concord, Mass.) netted her first career hat trick and notched the game-winning goal in overtime to lift the Wheaton College field hockey team to a 3-2 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University in non-conference action on Tuesday afternoon at Nordin Field.

The host Lyons improve to 10-7 on the season with the win, while the Bears slip to 8-9.

After end-to-end action in the opening minute of the overtime session, senior goalkeeper Madison Wolters (Marstons Mills, Mass.) made a diving stop inside the circle. Freshman Katie Peters (Medway, Mass.) picked up the loose ball and drove up the field to find McNicholas who avoided the BSU goalkeeper and deposited the game-winning strike into the left corner of the cage.

Trailing 2-1 in the second half, senior forward Tracy McCann (Westerly, R.I.) threw a long pass to McNicholas who redirected the ball diving towards the cage to even the score at 2-2 in the 58th minute.

McNicholas opened up the scoring for Wheaton at the 27:01 mark, when McCann's pass was redirected to the left post and the ball found her stick to give the Lyons a 1-0 lead.

Just 75 seconds later, the Bears struck with back-to-back goals less than three minutes apart to pull ahead of the Lyons 2-1. Junior forward Kelsey Kiely (Mansfield, Mass.) netted her third goal of the season as she redirected shot from freshman defender Janet Maher (Mansfield, Mass.) at 28:16.

After a penalty corner was taken by Kiely, classmate Emily Mosca (Dedham, Mass.) stopped the ball and slipped a pass to junior midfielder Mary Roche (Arlington, Mass.).  Roche beat the Wheaton netminder with a shot through the five-hole for her first tally of the season in the 31st minute of action.

Lyons' senior goaltender Madison Wolters (Marstons Mills, Mass.) made four saves on the afternoon to post her tenth win of the season.  Sophomore Kaylyn Allahyarian (Norwell, Mass.) turned aside eight shots in the setback for the Bears.

Wheaton held a 20-10 advantage in shots, while Bridgewater State maintained a 10-4 margin in penalty corners.

Wheaton returns to the field on Saturday when the Lyons host Mount Holyoke College at noon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action. Bridgewater State also wraps up regular season play on Saturday afternoon when the Bears host Little East Conference foe Plymouth State University at 3:30.