Second Half Rally Sends MIT Past Blue Soccer, 2-1

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – First year Carley Phillips (Waterford, Conn.) scored her fourth goal of the year in the first half, but host MIT rallied with a pair of second half goals to down Wellesley College soccer, 2-1, in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday afternoon at Steinbrenner Stadium.

The conference leading Engineers improve to 12-4-0 on the season a 5-1-0 in NEWMAC games with their eighth victory in their last nine games. Wellesley drops to 5-7-0 on the year and 2-3-0 in the conference. 

Phillips got the Blue out to an early advantage, when she converted in front of the MIT net on an assist from senior Kyla Petrie (Denton, Texas) at 22:21 of the first half. The Blue carried the 1-0 lead into the break, despite MIT holding a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. The Engineers finished the game with a 17-7 advantage in shots on goal after unleashing 12 more in the second half.

MIT evened the score just 2:27 after the break, using a corner kick to make the score 1-1 when first year Montana Reilly (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored her sixth of the season. The original bid on the play came off the head of junior Jacqueline Simmons (Houston, Texas), as she rung the ball off the post before it fell to Reilly for the finish. 

The teams played on into the 84th minute before MIT found the go-ahead goal and the eventual game winner off the foot of first year Allie Werner (Tyler, Texas). First year Claire O'Callaghan (Sherborn, Mass.) made a run down the field, setting up Werner at the top of the penalty area. Werner just beat Blue goalkeeper Olivia Reckley (Grosse Isle, Mich.) on the shot, as Reckley got a touch but couldn't keep it out of the Wellesley net. 

Reckley made eight saves in the contest and is now 5-7-0 on the season. MIT senior Lauren Ullman (Princeton, N.J.) turned back three shots to earn her conference leading 12th win of the year. 

Wellesley will host WPI in their next contest as part of Homecoming/Friends & Family Weekend on Saturday, October 15, at 11:00 AM. MIT will also continue the NEWMAC season on Saturday with a 1:00 PM contest versus Smith.