Hat Trick from Alex Lenart Gives Wellesley a 3-2 Win over Smith

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Sophomore Alex Lenart (Princeton Junction, N.J.) scored all three goals for the Blue in a 3-2 victory over Smith College on Saturday at Butler Stadium.

The hat trick from Lenart gave Wellelsey its third consecutive win and the Blue improve to 4-0 in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play and 6-3 overall. Smith falls to 4-8 overall and now stands just below .500 at 2-3 in the NEWMAC.

Late in the first quarter, sophomore Cass Novello (Scotch Plains, N.J.) was handed a green card and the Blue faced the next two minutes a player down. Over the span, the Pioneers earned four penalty corners and fired up four shots. Goalkeeper Kyra Deehr-Lewis (Newtown, Pa.) stayed poised and made two difficult saves to keep the match scoreless. The sophomore finished the game with 12 saves, the third time this year she has recorded 10 or more saves.

Wellesley would find its first goal in the middle of the second quarter, after Novello made a quick move and found Lenart. The forward was able to finish the play, and gave the Blue a 1-0 lead. Smith would earn four more penalty corners in the remainder of the half and put up six shots on goal, but all were saved once again by Deehr-Lewis.

The second half began with Wellesley applying the pressure, as Maddie Bettencourt (Virginia Beach, Va.) put up a shot that was saved by Channy Cornell (Arlington, Texas). Cornell would make two more saves before Smith's Victoria Mellow (San Diego, Calif.) scored the equalizer. It was her sixth goal of the season and notched the game at 1-1. 

Just 2:33 into the final quarter, Lenart poured in her second goal of the game as Wellesley regained the lead. It came unassisted and was the eighth goal of the year for Lenart. The clutch sophomore would not be done just yet, as she fought for her second goal of the quarter and third of the contest. The goal was set up by first year Camille Newman (Manhattan, N.Y.) as she earned her first career assist. With under two minutes remaining, Smith added a second goal this time from Eva Kinnel (Newtown, Penn.) and cut the deficit to one. However, the Wellesley Blue defense held strong and came away with the 3-2 win.

Wellesley looks to keep its winning streak alive with a non-conference match on the road against Tufts. Action will begin at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, October 13. Smith will also play on the road on Wednesday, October 13, at Western New England University at 6:00 PM.