Women's Soccer Falls to Wheaton, 3-0

NORTON, Mass. - Three players scored as the Wheaton College women's soccer team posted a 3-0 win over visiting Bridgewater State University on Saturday afternoon. 

The Lyons (2-0) outshot the Bears (0-1) 15-10, while Bridgewater State held a 7-5 advantage in courner kicks. The game marked the season-opener for the visiting Bears.

Wheaton opened the scoring with back-to-back goals in the 27th minute.

Senior captain Brooke Collard notched her first goal of the season off a corner kick by freshman Aymara O'Brien-Pappalardo. O'Brien-Pappalardo sent the ball to the center of the six-yard box where Collard turned and beat the BSU goalkeeper. 

The Lyons made it 2-0 just 16 seconds later when junior Megan Healy played a through ball to senior forward Alexa Sanchez. Sanchez collected the ball at the top of the 18-yard box where she attempted to slot it past a Bridgewater State defender. The Bear defender got a foot on the ball but a favorable bounce allowed Sanchez to break through and find the back of the net. 

Healy netted a goal of her own less than a minute into the second half. The junior captain buried a shot from the edge of the 18-yard box into the upper right corner of the net. 

Leann Wolf and Alexa Barbagallo combined for the shutout for the Lyons, with Wolf going untested in 45 minutes of work, while Barbagallo came up with four saves in the second half. 

Bridgewater State's best chance to score came in the 79th minute with a hard shot from sophomore Yasmina Teixeira (Brockton, Mass.) that was met by Barbagallo's gloves. The ball fell back to the Bears, which allowed a shot by freshman Tess Nagle (Pembroke, Mass.) that was then blocked by the Lyon defense.

Junior goaltender Lauren DeSousa (Taunton, Mass.) turned aside one shot between the pipes for the Bears.

The Lyons return to the field on Wednesday at home against Curry College. Game time is slated for a 4:15 p.m. The Bears take on Brandeis University in their home-opener on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30.