Blue Lacrosse Falls To MIT In NEWMAC Quarterfinals, 16-13

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Fourth-seeded MIT used a five-goal run midway through the second half to earn a 16-13 victory over fifth-seeded Wellesley College lacrosse in the quarterfinals of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Jack Barry Field. 

The Engineers are now 12-5 on the year and will play in the NEWMAC Championship semifinals at top-seeded Babson College next Saturday, May 7, at 12:00 PM.

Sophomore Katie Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass.) paced MIT with six goals and one assist. Cecilia McCormick (Islip, N.Y.) finished with four goals and an assist, while junior Hannah Levy (Yardley, Pa.) netted four goals. Sophomore Emily Young (La Jolla, Calif.) chipped in with two goals, an assist, and four draw controls. Senior Christine Jiang (Canton, Mich.) racked up six draw controls, six caused turnovers, and five groundballs. In goal, sophomore goalie Eva Boal (Princeton Junction, N.J.) totaled eight saves and four groundballs. 

Wellesley first year Dacia Persky (Las Vegas, Nev.) notched a career-high seven points on a career-high six goals and one assist. Classmate Lena Engbretson (Beaveron, Ore.) had a career-best five assists to go with three ground balls. Junior Mary Lemay (Longmeadow, Mass.) tallied four goals, while senior Nicole DeCanio (Weston, Conn.) scooped up four ground balls and classmate Caitlin Crawford (Yarmouth, Maine) had four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls. Seniors Ellie Mannon (Birmingham, Ala.) and Chesley Hooker (Cypress, Texas) and junior Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) also scored for the Blue. Junior Wendy Nettleton (La Jolla, Calif.) made a season-high 14 saves and grabbed five ground balls. 

MIT took an early edge in the game, getting out to a 5-1 lead by the 13:26 mark of the first thanks to two goals from Levy and a hat trick from McCormick. The Blue fought back into the game with a 4-1 run that made the score 6-5 following Hooker's goal at 7:53. MIT netted back-to-back goals following the Blue rally, establishing an 8-5 lead with 2:50 to play in the opening period. Persky scored a free position attempt and Peterson added her 21st of the seasons to close out the first half, making the score 8-7 MIT at the break. 

The Blue continued to roll after halftime, taking their first lead of the game. Persky set up Lemay for the game-tying goal at 28:53 before putting the Blue ahead with a free position shot at 23:15. McCormick and Mannon then exchanged goals to make the score 10-9 Wellesley. The Engineers followed with a five-goal surge, swinging the momentum as Notarangelo scored three times and Young scored twice to give the hosts a 14-10 lead with 14:27 left in regulation. 

Persky rallied the Blue back to within two by scoring two goals, at 13:39 and 13:11. Both goals came with the Blue down a player following a yellow card. Notarangelo then put the game out of reach with her final two goals of the game at 9:05 and 3:23, as the Blue only got one goal back when Persky scored her final marker at 2:14. 

MIT held on to a 25-23 edge in ground balls in the contest, outshooting the Blue 35-23, while holding a 21-10 advantage in draw controls.

Today's contest concludes the 2016 season for Wellesley lacrosse. The Blue finish the year with a 9-8 overall record and a 4-4 mark in conference games.