Women's Soccer Tops Wheelock 4-0 on Senior Day

NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Mitchell College women's soccer team picked up a 4-0 victory over Wheelock College on Wednesday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference play at Alumni Field.

Four players found the back of the net for the Mariners on the day. Freshman Vannessa Ortiz finished with a goal and an assist to set the pace while Alexandra Mahar, Alexandra Charles and Katie McBride each added markers.

Mahar put the Mariners on the scoreboard in the 13th minute off a feed from Ortiz, rocketing a shot into the top-right corner of the goal from 18 yards out. The goal was her first of the season and the only one of the opening half.

Mitchell's three second-half goals all came within a 13-minute span. Ortiz recorded her first career goal by stripping a Wheelock defender of the ball and beating the keeper with a quick shot to an open net. Charles then notched her third of the season off a pass from Lindsay Noble to make it 3-0, and McBride capped things off with an unassisted effort for her second tally of the year. 

Mitchell outshot Wheelock 25-9 in the contest. McBride and Shirley Palmer combined to make two saves and posted Mitchell's first clean sheet of the season. Madeleine Grover finished with five saves for the Wildcats.

The win kept the Mariners' postseason hopes alive and moved them into seventh place in the conference standings with a record of 2-4-2 (2-11-2 overall). A win or a draw in the regular season finale would give Mitchell a berth in the 2014 NECC Championship.

Mitchell will close out the regular season at Bay Path College on Saturday, November 1 at 2 p.m. Wheelock (3-13-1 overall, 1-7-0 NECC) will next host Elms College on Saturday at noon.

Prior to the match, the Mariners honored three seniors--Charles, Madeline Crow and Breanna Poirier--in a special ceremony.