Posted: Oct 22, 2011
Blue Field Hockey Drops Heartbreaker to WPI in OT
Wellesley
(8-8, 4-3 NEWMAC)
1
WPI
(9-6, 3-4 NEWMAC)
2
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wellesley (8-8, 4-3 NEWMAC) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
WPI (9-6, 3-4 NEWMAC) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
WORCESTER, Mass. -- Libbi Richardson poked home a goal following a wild scramble 7:25 into overtime to lift WPI to a dramatic 2-1 victory over visiting Wellesley on Saturday morning.
Wellesley sees its record level out at 8-8 on the season and dips to 4-3 in conference. The Blue currently sit in a three-way tie for third place with Babson and Springfield, a game behind first place MIT and Mount Holyoke.
The victory helps bolster WPI's playoff push. The Engineers are now 9-6 overall and 3-4 in NEWMAC play. WPI is currently tied for the sixth and final NEWMAC Tournament berth with Wheaton, a half game up on Clark (2-4). The Lyons and Cougars meet Sunday in a key makeup contest.
The victory helps bolster WPI's playoff push. The Engineers are now 9-6 overall and 3-4 in NEWMAC play. WPI is currently tied for the sixth and final NEWMAC Tournament berth with Wheaton, a half game up on Clark (2-4). The Lyons and Cougars meet Sunday in a key makeup contest.
Wellesley opened the scoring at 16:35 when Nathalie Gruet deflected a shot from Allison Robbins into the back of the net for her 10th goal of the season. Sasha Marokhovsky tallied the equalizer for WPI just over 10 minutes later when she redirected a Mary-Lee Barboza shot past the Wellesley goalkeeper for her fifth marker of 2011.
The second half saw Wellesley take all eight of the session's shots but Engineer keeper Liz Dufresne recorded seven stops after intermission, including a pair of close range shots just eight minutes after halftime.
The overtime was completely different with WPI recording all four shots. Richardson nearly ended the contest two minutes earlier, but after beating the Wellesley goalkeeper, the freshman had her shot cleared off the line by Gruet, who made a tremendous defensive save. Richardson would send the Crimson and Gray fans home happy when she emerged from a scramble to knock home a rebound of a Maggie Wigley shot.
Dufresne finished with nine saves as she helped the Engineers break a four-game losing streak. Brit Mscisz made a pair of stops for Wellesley, who was also aided by a first half defensive save from Kaitlyn Kirkaldy.
WPI closes out its home schedule on Wednesday with a 7pm contest versus Simmons. Wellesley returns to the field on Tuesday for a 7pm trip to UMass Dartmouth.
Release courtesy WPI Sports Information