Field Hockey Downs Mount Holyoke, 2-1 in OT

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Junior forward Nathalie Gruet scored with 6:17 to play in overtime to lift the Wellesley College field hockey team to a 2-1 victory against Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday. With the win, the 19th-ranked Blue move to 8-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while the 20th-ranked Lyons see their eight-game winning streak snapped and are now 8-1 and 0-1 in the NEWMAC.

Locked in the 1-1 battle after a scoreless second half of action, Mount Holyoke came out on the offensive and nearly tipped in the game-winner with 13 minutes remaining in the extra session as junior midfielder Kirsten Kilburn ripped a shot from the top of the arc that was kicked away by Wellesley netminder Brit Mscisz.

Wellesley controlled the ball for much of the play after that point and were finally able to capitalize as a shot from first year midfielder Nikki Sharkin sailed into the middle off a corner and was picked up by Gruet. Redirecting it around the keeper, Gruet sent it into the right side for the game-winner.

The contest opened in Mount Holyoke's favor as the homestanding Lyons scored just 42 seconds into the game. Junior Christine Ianni earned the assist after she belted a shot toward goal, which rebounded out to senior Victoria Beja-Glasser, who one-touched it into the left corner.

The score remained the same until the 16th minute as sophomore midfielder Anissa Sridhar put in a loose ball at the right side. Gruet earned the assist after her shot in front was saved by MHC's Sarah LaQuerre, who was unable to clear it off the defensive save.

In the second half of action, there was a flurry of activity as Wellesley crashed the net. The Blue nearly grabbed the go-ahead, but a shot from Sridhar – which was the last of three consecutive shots on goal – was disallowed.

Junior midfielder Diana Banmann almost put the Lyons up with 15:07 left on the clock, but a huge save by Mscisz on her powerful shot kept it at 1-all. MHC keeper Liz DiCesare also made several incredible saves, including one off a shot by Sharkin, which saw her block out a shot from an awkward angle.

Despite the number of chances down the stretch, neither team was able to get the go-ahead to force the overtime session.

In goal, DiCesare stopped 14 shots for Mount Holyoke, while her counterpart Mscisz had three saves. Wellesley held the edge in shots, 21-5 and also claimed an 18-3 advantage in penalty corners.

Mount Holyoke returns to action on October 5 when it travels to Clark for a 1pm contest. Wellesley is back on the field on Wednesday in a 7pm match at Gordon.