Field Hockey Falls to MIT in NEWMAC Semifinal

BABSON PARK, Mass.—Behind the strength of a first half goal from senior Molly Duffy (New Providence, N.J.) and first-year Morgan Gulliver's (Stamford, Conn.) tally early in the second half, second-seeded MIT, the defending New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) champions, turned back third-seeded Wellesley College, 2-1, on Saturday afternoon in a NEWMAC field hockey tournament semifinal at MacDowell Field.

With their 11^th straight victory, the Engineers move to 16-2 on the season and will be playing in their fourth consecutive NEWMAC championship game on Sunday afternoon, while Wellesley ends its season at 12-8.

In a matchup featuring the conference's two top defensive teams, scoring opportunities were at a premium throughout the first half. Wellesley's best chance in the opening stanza came just under eight minutes into the game as sophomore Meghan Peterson hit a hard blast from the top of the arc off junior Kaitlyn Kirkaldy's penalty corner insert, but was denied by Engineers' sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Klein. Sophomore Nathalie Gruet got to the rebound but was again denied by Klein, keeping the game scoreless.

Just under two minutes later Duffy broke free inside the 25-yard line but Wellesley junior goalkeeper Brit Mscisz came charging off her line to block the shot attempt. Six minutes later, Mscisz blocked senior Molly McShane's shot off a centering pass at the 15:09 mark to keep MIT off the board.

The Engineers got on the board first late in the first half as Duffy knocked home her team-leading 17th goal of the season. Following a penalty corner, MIT maintained possession and after a scramble to gain control of the ball in front of the net, senior Kimberly Barker got a stick on the loose ball, directing it to Duffy for the finish and a 1-0 lead at the 27:56 mark.

Wellesley had an opportunity to draw even just over eight minutes into the second half as sophomore Lallie Lukens hit a shot from just inside 10 yards that was deflected by Klein, and poked out of harm's way by MIT senior back Michelle Teplensky to remain ahead. Minutes later the Engineers capitalized on their best opportunity of the half, as Gulliver scored her seventh goal of the season to push their advantage to 2-0.

The play started with first-year midfielder Isabella DiDio taking a penalty corner from the right side of the field. Following the insert, junior back Maddie Wharton swung a pass from the top of the arc to McShane on the left flank, who sent a pass to the front of the net where Gulliver redirected the ball past Msiscz at the 46:37 mark.

Klein would make the lead stand up for the Engineers, denying Kirkaldy from close range at 55:47, and senior Allison Robbins exactly five minutes later on her blast from just inside the top of the arc off a penalty corner.

Wellesley finally broke through with 30 seconds left in regulation, as senior Emily Lewis collected a loose ball in front of the cage and beat Klein for a team-high 15th goal of the season to cut the MIT lead to 2-1, but it would be their final scoring opportunity of the day.

Klein and Mscisz each made five saves on the afternoon, and each team took eight penalty corners while MIT held a 15-11 advantage in shots.

MIT will look to win its third NEWMAC championship in the last four years in a matchup with fourth-seeded Springfield College at 12:30pm at MacDowell Field in Babson Park. The Engineers claimed the 2009 NEWMAC title with a 4-2 win over the Pride.