NORTON, Mass. -- Junior Chrissy Norberg (Winchester, MA) collected the game-winning tally with 5:46 to play to send the Wheaton College women's lacrosse team to a narrow 15-14 non-league victory over Bridgewater State College on Tuesday afternoon at Keefe Field.
Marking the Lyons' 20th straight win over the Bears, Wheaton improved to 2-0 on the young season, while Bridgewater State slipped to 0-2, with both decisions coming at New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) schools.
After trailing for the better part of the game, including being down 13-9 nearly midway through the second half, the Bears rattled off four goals in 4:24 to knot the contest with 13:04 left. Following a Wheaton score by freshman Brittany Whynot (Fountain Hills, AZ) with 12:34 remaining, Bridgewater State again tied things up before Norberg posted the lone goal in the final 11:45.
In the opening half, the teams battled through two lead changes and a pair of ties before Wheaton went ahead 4-3 at 17:28 to secure the lead for the remainder of the half, as the Lyons carried an 8-6 edge into the break. The Bears tallied a pair of quick goals to begin the second stanza, but the hosts responded with three straight tallies and five of the next six to make the score 13-9.
Four Lyons finished with at least three goals, as senior Caitlin Grant (Walpole, MA) led the charge with five tallies and one assist. Norberg, senior Madeline Williams (Annapolis, MD) and freshman Katie Powers (Ashburnham, MA) each posted a hat trick, while Whynot added two assists.
The Bears were paced by junior Shannon Manning (Framingham, MA), who totaled three goals and a trio of assists, while junior Katie DeMaio (Port Jefferson Station, NY) and sophomore Jenny Jones (Framingham, MA) recorded three goals and an assist apiece.
With her six-point performance, Manning moved past Susan Larson into fourth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list. Manning currently has 175 points in 38 career games. Larson tallied 174 points during a career which spanned from 1984 to 1987.
Wheaton sophomore goalie Marianna Marcellino (Milton, MA) finished with nine saves in picking up her second win of the season, while junior Meghan Griffin (Billerica, MA) had six stops in each half for the Bears.