MIT Tops Wellesley Lacrosse, 21-9; Persky Records 200th Career Point

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Senior Dacia Persky (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded her 200th career point but Wellesley College lacrosse dropped a 21-9 New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest to MIT on Saturday afternoon at the Wellesley Field Complex.

MIT senior Cecilia McCormick (Islip, N.Y.) scored nine goals to help the Engineers improve to 5-6 overall and 3-0 in conference. Wellesley is now 5-6 overall (1-2 NEWMAC). 

McCormick added an assist to lead the Engineers with 10 points. Junior Rayna Higuchi (Solana Beach, Calif.) scored a hat trick, while first years Naomi Lutz (Northbrook, Ill.) and Ali Hoffman (Port Washington, N.Y.), and senior Ana Flooks (Weston, Conn.) each scored a pair of goals. Hoffman had a game-high seven ground balls and Flooks totaled a game-high three assists. Senior Christine Noh (La Canada, Calif.), sophomore Joyce Noh (Los Angeles, Calif.), and first year Eva Then (Yarmouth, Maine) also scored for MIT.

Persky recorded her 200th career point at 19:21 of the first half and finished the game with three goals and an assist. Junior Marika Dy (San Mateo, Calif.) scored two goals for the Blue. Seniors Lena Engbretson (Beaverton, Ore.) and Ellie Chalphin (Philadelphia, Pa.) and first years Izzy Burdick (Scarborough, Maine) and Eleanor Mallett (Berwick, Maine) also scored for the Blue. Engbretson also tallied two assists. First year goalkeeper Lorna Li (Taunton, Mass.) made nine save in the setback. 

Joyce Noh scored the game's first goal at 28:33 but the Blue responded with back-to-back goals from Chalphin and Persky to take a 2-1 lead at 23:46. The 2-1 lead was the last advantage the Blue would have in the contest, as MIT scored seven of the next eight goals to take an 8-3 lead when Floks scored her eighth of the season at 10:45. Engbretson found Persky to get the Blue back on the board at 9:52 but the Engineers would take an 11-5 lead into the half when Higuchi capped the opening 30 minutes with a free position goal at 2:46. 

McCormick scored four goals in the opening half, adding five more after the break as the Engineers continued to pull away. Engbretson, Mallett, Burdick, and Dy all scored for the Blue but MIT outscored Wellesley 10-4 after the break to close out the 21-9 win. The Engineers scored six of the last seven and nine of the last eleven goals in the game to clinch the victory.

MIT outshot Wellesley by a 39-20 margin and had a 21-14 edge in ground balls. MIT sophomore Hannah Adams (McLean, Va.) earned the win (5-4) in 36:40 of action. First year Elena Boal (West Windsor, N.J.) made four stops in relief.

Both sides will continue the NEWMAC season on Wednesday, March 10. Wellesley will travel to Wheaton for a 7:00 PM start and MIT will host Babson at 5:00 PM.

NCAA Division III Week is an annual week-long celebration of Division III student-athletes and the impact they have on Division III campuses and in their surrounding communities. This year, NCAA Division III Week begins on Monday, April 1 and continues until Sunday, April 7. For more information, visit wellesleyblue.com/x/80miv.