NORTON, MA (September 5, 2023) – Junior midfielder Lydia Gaudreau (Gorham, Maine) scored the game-winning goal with 10:24 left in the fourth quarter to give the Wheaton College (Mass.) field hockey team a 1-0 victory over visiting Fitchburg State University this evening at Nordin Field on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.

The Lyons improve to 1-1 on the season, while the Falcons fall to 0-2.

Goals were hard to come by through the first three-plus quarters of play until Wheaton was finally able to break through on one of its seven penalty corners in the match. Junior midfielder Macy Poitras-Cote (Northborough, Mass.) sent the insert pass to Gaudreau, who wound up from the top of the circle and sent a rocket into the far right corner for the only marker of the night. 

The Lyons’ offense controlled the opening quarter, outshooting Fitchburg State by a count of 6-1 as part of a 15-7 margin for the game. 

The Falcons’ only penalty corner came with just 91 seconds left in the contest, but the Wheaton defense was able to disrupt the try and keep the visitors off the board. 

Fitchburg had its best scoring chance of the night when sophomore Olivia Narkevicius (Phillipston, Mass.) looked to take advantage of an open left side of the cage. She sent a shot from the left slot, but sophomore Lyon midfielder Maddie Hatch (Gorham, Maine) was there to make the defensive stop with 50 ticks left on the clock and keep the shutout intact for the home team.

Narkevicius paced the Falcons’ offense with a pair of shots.

The goal for Gaudreau was the second game-winner of her career for Wheaton.

Senior keeper Emma Lapreziosa (Bowdoinham, Maine) turned away all four shots she faced to record her fourth career shutout for the Lyons, while senior goalie Jenna Morse (Leominster, Mass.) made five saves for Fitchburg State.