NORTON, Mass. -- First year midfielder Emily Plummer (San Diego, Calif.) scored a goal for the Simmons University field hockey team in a 3-1 loss to host Wheaton College (Mass.) this evening at Nordin Field in Norton, Mass. The Sharks fall to 2-5 on the season, while the Lyons improve to 2-3.
Wheaton controlled possession for the majority of the night, owning a commanding 16-4 shot advantage, while doubling up on penalty corners with a 10-5 count.
Senior midfielder Michelle Connolly (Stoughton, Mass.) tallied a pair of goals, including the game-winner, to lead the Lyons.
Connolly's second marker and team-leading fifth of the season was a shot that found the inside of the left post from the right side, just 55 seconds into the second half, to give Wheaton a 2-1 edge. The Lyons received an insurance goal with 13:27 left in the match on junior forward Liz Helmreich's (Sanford, Maine) second goal of the year. Senior midfielder JoAnn Bourgoin (Winslow, Maine) found Helmreich at the top of the circle on a penalty corner situation for the score and a 3-1 Wheaton lead.
Junior forward Karin Dion (Cumberland, R.I.) fed Connolly for her first tally of the night to put the home team on the board with 10:17 left in the opening period. Simmons scored less than four minutes later when junior forward Olivia Trull (Lowell, Mass.) found Plummer on a breakaway to tie the game at 1-1 with her team-high eighth goal of the season with 6:57 remaining in the half.
Sophomore Lucy McNamara (Brewster, Mass.) turned away nine shots for the Sharks, while starting sophomore goalie Greta Reilly (Manchester, N.H.) allowed a goal on the only shot she faced in 56:33 of action for the Lyons, before yielding to junior Morgan Karnes (Durham, Maine), who made one save in the final 13:27 of play.
Simmons returns to action on Saturday, September 22 when it travels to Standish, Maine to take on Great Northeast Athletic Conference rival Saint Joseph's College (Maine) at 11:00 a.m., while Wheaton hosts Clark University on the same day at 12:00 p.m. in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference contest.