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Nov 7, 2007

Women's Soccer Selected NCAA Tournament Host for Eighth Consecutive Fall, Lyons Play Baptist Bible in Weekend's Four-Team

NORTON, MA- The Wheaton College women's soccer team learned today that it was selected to host NCAA Tournament action for the eighth consecutive fall, as the Lyons will host the opening two rounds of this weekend's competition at Mirrione Stadium.  Wheaton begins first-round play against Baptist Bible College on Saturday at 11:00 a.m., while the second semifinal features Bowdoin College and Ithaca College at 1:30 p.m.  Saturday's winners face each other on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for the right to advance to the sectional round.
 
Selected to the NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier for the seventh time in eight years, the Lyons are fresh off their seventh New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament crown thanks to a 5-0 shutout of Babson College in Sunday's title game.  Wheaton boasts a 21-0-1 record and is ranked seventh nationally and second in New England by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
 
Baptist Bible enters the weekend at 17-3-2 after having won the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) with a 1-0 victory over Keuka College.  The Lyons and Defenders meet for the first time in Wheaton's 29 seasons.  Bowdoin, ranked in a tie for fifth in New England with a 12-4-1 mark, picked up an at-large bid out of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC).  Ithaca, which is ranked 24th in the country and fourth in New York at 16-3, knocked off Nazareth College, 2-1 to win the Empire 8 Athletic Conference.
 
This weekend marks the third time in women's soccer history in which a Wheaton team enters NCAA Tournament play unbeaten, as the Lyons carry streaks of 22 games undefeated and 18 wins into the weekend.  Their unbeaten run is good for second place in the program annals, while their winning stretch is currently fourth, just two off the pace set in 2001.  Registering 15 shutouts on the season, including one in eight of the last nine contests and each of the three league tournament games, Wheaton blanked Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), 5-0 in the first round, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2-0 in the semifinals and Babson College, 5-0 in the final.
 
Leading the Lyons to their ninth consecutive regular season conference crown, 11th-year head coach Luis Reis reached the 200-win milestone on September 11 against Tufts University, as he has recorded one of the highest winning percentages among active Division III women's soccer coaches with an overall record of 217-30-8 (.867).  Wheaton is 11-7-1 during NCAA Tournament play under Reis, including 7-4 at home.  The Blue and White has been difficult to beat at Mirrione, going 122-8-4 at home since October 1997.  The Lyons have outscored the opposition, 89-8 this season, averaging a shade under four goals while surrendering just 0.36 per game.
 
A pair of freshmen has led the Wheaton offense, as Melida Alvarez (Saugus, MA/Buckingham Browne & Nichols) and Emily Hough (Norwich, VT/Hanover) have 48 and 39 points, respectively.  Alvarez tied the program's freshman goals record with 22 to go along with her four assists and eight game-winners, while Hough has a team-high 11 assists and is second with 14 goals and four game-winners.  Senior Jenna Rabesa (Teaticket, MA/Falmouth), who is third on the squad with 26 points, became the program's seventh 100-point scorer.
 
Senior co-captain Erin Davis (Easton, CT/Joel Barlow) anchors a Wheaton defense that has allowed more than one goal in a game just once this season.  Davis is second on the team in assists with 10 and tied for fifth with 16 points, as each of her three goals came via penalty kicks.  Senior goalies Elana Cockburn (Chestnut Hill, MA/Brookline) and Stacey Kronenberg (Belchertown, MA/Belchertown) have combined for 18 starts, as Kronenberg is 10-0-1 with a 0.33 goals against average and Cockburn is 7-0 with a 0.37 GAA.
 
Tickets will be sold by the Wheaton College Athletic Department at $10 for adults, $3 for students and senior citizens, and $2 for children ages 3-12.  Tickets will be sold at the gate starting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.  If you are a member of the working media and would like to request a media pass, please call Scott Dietz in advance at 508-286-3768 to arrange for the pass to be picked up.