Wes Women Lose Second Straight to Wheaton

By Brian LaCarrubba
Consulting Sports

Poised to rebound after getting blown out 5-0 by Clark on Wednesday, the Wesleyan women’s soccer team came out strong against Wheaton on Saturday. But after the Cardinals took a 1-0 lead on a beautiful goal by senior tri-captain Mariah Carbone, the Lyons (4-2) took over the game, pumping in three goals in the final 11 minutes of the first half and cruising to a 3-1 victory.

Wesleyan played well from the start and was moving the ball around well early.

The Cardinals got their first good scoring chance 13 minutes into the game, when they were awarded a free kick from 30 yards out. The ball was played to Carbone, who had just broken up a near breakaway chance at the other end. She carried it around the wall and then rifled a magnificent shot into the far top corner of the net.

"That was the most beautiful shot I have ever seen," said Kali Tomlin ’00. "It was very, very sweet."

The goal lit a fire under the Wheaton women, who immediately turned their play up. The Lyons nearly evened the score a minute later, but Megan Bartlett ’01 cleared the ball from danger. A few minutes later, Ella Naef ’02 made a fine diving save on a low shot headed for the far post. That was just one of many times that she saved the Cards on the day.

"Ella played superbly," said Coach Jeff Vagell about the rookie’s her first collegiate start. "She made some saves that I didn’t think she would get to at all."

It was only a matter of time before Wheaton would break through. The Cardinals were getting impatient as they started to lose their defensive coverage and abandon the short passing game, instead just booting the ball out of their end when they gained control.

Finally, at the 34-minute mark, speedy Lyon captain Christina Mirrione tied the score. She burst through the defensive line and was able to push a shot past the diving Naef and into the net for her first of two goals. This would be a familiar scene, as Wheaton was able to consistently beat the Wesleyan players to the ball throughout the game.

"The last two teams we played have been quicker and had more team speed than us," Vagell said.

"They came ready to play," Tomlin added. "They showed a lot of hustle, that’s where they beat us. They weren’t outrageously skilled or anything."

Wheaton continued to control play for the rest of the first half, and the Cardinals left the field trailing by two goals. The intermission settled the team down. In the second half they were able to contain the opposition better, with neither side getting many good scoring chances.

Wesleyan threatened to make it a game again with seven minutes to go, but frosh Xan Young’s shot which beat the keeper ended up going just wide.

The Cardinals are now in a difficult position, as they have been outscored 8-1 in their last two games. To make matters worse, they will be playing the always powerful Williams Ephs next Saturday, giving them little time to put themselves back on course. Vagell will be juggling his lineup in order to give his attack some more punch.

One of those moves will be shifting Carbone from a defensive position up to striker.

"We have gotten two really good games out of Mariah Carbone, against St. Joseph’s and Wheaton," he said. "She is the only senior we have now, and she is a very skilled player. I’m moving her up into the offense. We need to have more of an attack."

"I’m dropping Tomlin to Mariah’s spot, defensive center midfield," he continued. "She is a strong physical player who can break up the play. Jen Wallach [’02] will move up to offense, so the forward line will be Wallach, Flo Anito [’01], and Carbone. They are basically our most skilled players. I prefer to spread them around, but I have to put the best kids up front to see if we can get some action in the offensive end."

The players feel that the coach is doing the right thing in mixing things up, as they are eager to get this season back on the right track.

"They [the lineup changes] are going to be great," said Tomlin, a tri-captain. "Putting Mariah up front is a great move. And I feel real comfortable in the midfield. They are nothing too drastic, we are just trying to find who fits best where. We’re definitely coming along, we’re just juggling some positions and have some more conditioning work to do."

Vagell said he feels that the team is headed in the right direction, but that it will take time for the team’s young players to get acclimated to the college game and to playing together.

"[The game] was a step forward," he said. "We need a little more consistency. We need to work on our transition into attack. We are a very young team, and we are making mistakes that inexperienced players make."