Cambridge, Mass. – October 3, 2009 – MIT opened up a four-goal lead and withstood a late rally to defeat Springfield, 4-2, in New England WomenÂ's and MenÂ's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey action on a soggy Jack Barry Field Saturday.
The win was the first for the Engineers in sixteen tries against the Pride, in a series that began in 1986. Jessica Oleinik led the way for Tech, with her team leading 11th and 12th markers, as it improved to 9-2 on the season and 1-1 in NEWMAC play. MIT also remains a perfect 6-0 at home this year. The loss drops Springfield to 5-5 (1-1 NEWMAC).
The Engineers threatened early, forcing Springfield goalie Anna Calano to make three saves in the gameÂ's first 10 minutes. The hosts finally broke through just over 13 minutes into the contest as Oleinik tipped in Molly McShaneÂ's blast from outside the circle.
Springfield had a great opportunity to even things up midway through the period as Sam Williams earned a penalty stroke attempt. However, Keri Dixon made a spectacular diving stop to preserve the one-goal lead. Just two minutes later, Anna Teruya found the back of the net off of a penalty corner to give the Cardinal and Grey a 2-0 advantage. Another corner try would result in OleinikÂ's second tally of the afternoon and send MIT into the break up 3-0. After TeruyaÂ's initial shot rang off the post, Oleinik was in perfect position to scoop up the rebound and push it past Calano.
Tech would strike quickly in the second, as Kameron Klauber turned a Springfield turnover into a breakaway opportunity. Back-up goalkeeper Alison McCarthy was able to deny KlauberÂ's first attempt but freshman Kimberly Barker was there for the second-chance goal.
The Pride would not go down easily though, registering two scores of their own in a span of just 27 seconds to slice the MIT lead in half. Liz Hurley took a pass from Morgan Rein to put Springfield on the board with 17:13 remaining. Alexa Carlson then added her third marker of the season on the next possession to bring her team within two. However, the Engineers were able to keep the visitors off the board for the final 16:40 to preserve the win.
Dixon stopped four shots, including the penalty stroke, to earn her ninth win of the year in net. Calano took the loss while making nine saves. McCarthy stopped five shots while yielding just one goal in the second.
MIT will host fellow NEWMAC opponent Babson on Tuesday, October 6 at 6:00 p.m. while the Pride will be back in action on Tuesday at Clark at 7:00 p.m.
