No. 10 Field Hockey Wins Key NEWMAC Tilt With MIT, 3-1

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Paced by a pair of assists from senior Anissa Sridhar (London, Ontario), Wellesley College field hockey earned a 3-1 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over visiting MIT on Tuesday afternoon at the Wellesley College Athletics Fields Complex.

Both teams entered the game with matching 4-1 records in conference play, but Wellesley used three straight goals to send MIT to their second straight conference setback. The Blue improve to 13-2 overall (5-1 NEWMAC) as the Engineers drop to 8-4 (4-2 NEWMAC) on the year.

The Blue got on the board in a hurry in the opening half of play, as junior Courtney Peterson (Glastonbury, Conn.) found her way through the MIT defense before ripping a shot from the top of the circle that took a touch off a defender and hit the back of the cage less than five minutes in. 

Sridhar went on to set up the game's next two goals, with the first coming on Wellesley's second penalty corner opportunity in the 17^th minute of play. Sridhar swept the ball past the outstretched dive of MIT goalkeeper Evie Kyritsis (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and on to the stick of classmate Hannah Flesh (Rockville, Md.), who finished for the second goal of the game and her seventh of the season. 

The Blue carried the 2-0 lead into the second half, eventually increasing their advantage at 62:40 when Sridhar ripped a crossing pass from outside the circle on to the stick of Rachel Hwang (Campbell, Calif.). The first year forward then deposited the ball into the cage for her sixth goal of the year.

Wellesley shut out the Engineers until the 67^th minute when sophomore Emily Penn (Columbia, Md.) got MIT on the board with her team and NEWMAC-leading 16^th goal of the season.

It looked like the Blue had shut down Penn on the play, as she lost control of the ball in front of the cage. However, she was able to gather the ball from the Blue defense and slide it past junior goalkeeper Lucy Hurlock (Needham, Mass.) to make the score 3-1. 

Hurlock made three saves in the Blue cage, as Peterson also registered a defensive save for the Blue in the contest. Kyritsis collected seven saves for MIT, including five in the second half.

For the game, Wellesley had a 10-6 edge in shots, while the team's finished with six penalty corner opportunities apiece.

Both squads will return to the turf on Saturday, October 24, at 12:00 PM. Wellesley will host Clark for Senior Day, while the Engineers will host Mount Holyoke.