Spartans fall to Leopards in final
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Staff Reports - Published: November 16, 2009
In Boston, Mass., Wentworth Institute of Technology junior goalkeeper Brian Pearsall pitched his second consecutive shutout as the Leopards defeated Castleton State College 1-0 to win the Eastern College Athletic Conference New England Division III men's soccer tournament on Sunday.
Pearsall had six saves in the championship game and was named the most outstanding player in the tournament. He had three saves in a 1-0 semifinal victory over Anna Maria College and his seventh shutout of the season tied a school record, set by Dylan Thomas in 1996.
The only goal of the championship came in the eleventh minute as Wentworth junior John Golden knocked in a header off a lob pass from sophomore Josh Deschene. Deschene took the original pass from junior David Lagarce, who was awarded a second assist on the play.
Wentworth had the better of play throughout the first half with a 7-3 edge in shots and a 4-1 margin in corner kicks. Castleton rallied toward the end of the half, carrying play in the Leopards end, but was unable to put the ball past Pearsall.
The second half was more evenly played with Wentworth outshooting Castleton 8-6. Spartan senior keeper Mike Anthony made three saves in the period with Pearsall notching four.
The win gives Wentworth its first-ever ECAC tournament title and the Leopards tied a school record for wins with 15, which was set two seasons ago when the squad lost 2-1 to Norwich in the ECAC title game. Wentworth also completes a perfect season on Sweeney Field, going 11-0. Castleton sees its season come to an end with a 12-8-3 record.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Lyndon 90, CSJ 49
Despite 27 points, which included five 3-pointers, and 11 rebounds from Brittany Garrow, the Saints could not get past the Hornets. The College of St. Joseph trailed just 18-16 when Garrow picked up her fourth foul midway through the first half and Lyndon closed with a 30-2 run.
"We had a good first 10 minutes, bad second 10," CSJ coach Jason Cassarino said of his all-freshman team. "We couldn't recover from it."
Amanda Howard dumped in 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Saints while Naomi White had 16 and Casey Steinmetz 15 for the Hornets.
The Saints fall to 0-2 and will host Lyndon on Wednesday.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Middlebury 2, Wheaton 1
In Middlebury, the Panthers has earned a spot in an NCAA sectional after picking up a win over Wheaton in an NCAA second-round contest in Vermont. The game was moved from Middlebury's grass surface (Dragone Field) to its turf field after heavy downpours throughout the day Saturday. The Panthers advance to take on Johns Hopkins, with the site and game time to be determined.
Neutral play early on led to no shot opportunities for either team. Middlebury's first shot came when Lindsay Walker's blast sailed high over the goal, but resulted in a corner kick after it was slightly deflected by a Wheaton defender. Drew Smith took the corner that sailed through the box to Margaret Owen on the left side, where Owen chipped a low hard shot back into the box. Lindsay Walker was there, finishing with a header at 15:20 to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Wheaton came back to tie the game at 31:23 as Rosie Levy earned her fourth tally of the season with an assist going to Cassey Muse.
Middlebury regained the lead just 4:35 into the second session. Kirsten Lundquist gained some space on the right wing at the 18 before launching a shot. Wheaton keeper Lindsay Leddy was able to deflect the shot up into the air, where Middlebury's Paola Cabonargi struck a firm header for the 2-1 lead.
Lauryn Torch ended the game with three saves to earn the win, while Leddy made a pair of stops for Wheaton. Middlebury moves to 14-3-2 while Wheaton ends its season with an 18-4-2 mark.
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