Strong Second Half Leads Wheaton Past Women's Soccer
The Worcester State women's soccer team conceded three second half goals on Friday afternoon as Wheaton College defeated the Lancers 4-1 in non-conference action at Coughlin Field.
WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State women's soccer team conceded three second half goals on Friday afternoon as Wheaton College defeated the Lancers 4-1 in non-conference action at Coughlin Field.
With the season-opening loss, the Lancers drop to 0-1-0 on the young season, while the Lyons improve to 1-0-0.
Wheaton sophomore Hannah Lepordo (Sudbury, Mass.) got the scoring started on the afternoon, chipping a shot over the head of Lancer goalkeeper Jill Zinkus (Grafton, Mass.) in the 23rd minute. Lepordo took a feed from the right off the foot of junior Lily Scammon (Hopkinton, N.H.) before putting it home for her first goal of the season.
The Lancers responded quickly however, as Worcester State's Talia Borci (Leicester, Mass.) leveled the score just over five and a half minutes later. The sophomore scored the unassisted goal on a shot from the top of the box to tie up the score.
The score remained 1-1 into halftime, but the visitors wasted no time taking the lead right back at the start of period number two. Lepordo's second goal of the game came just 32 seconds into the second half on a shot low into the bottom left corner of the net to put the Lyons up 2-1.
The score remained 2-1 for the majority of the second half, until Wheaton's Aymara O'Brien-Pappalardo (Easton, Mass.) scored on a penalty kick in the 81st minute to put the game out of reach. Kate Hopkins (Gorham, Maine) headed one home off a corner in the game's final minute for good measure to seal the 4-1 final.
Alexa Barbagallo (Bridgewater, N.J.) got the victory in net for the Lyons, recording three saves on the afternoon. Zinkus finished with three saves in 45 minutes of action, but the loss went to Ashley Spellman (Lancaster, Mass.), who made three saves in the second half of action for the Lancers.
Next up for the Lancers, they will seek win number one when they host MIT at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening at Coughlin Field. Wheaton will look to extend their winning streak to two on Sunday when they take on the University of New England at 1 p.m.