Women's Lax Wins 15-9, Nets 12 First-Half Goals
MIT's 12 first-half goals were crucial in its 15-9 win over Wheaton College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse game on Tuesday night. Laura C. Watson '08 and Casey M. Flynn '10 paced the Engineers (4-6, 2-3 NEWMAC) with four goals and an assist while Madeline Williams posted four goals for the Lyons (3-10, 2-3 NEWMAC).
MIT quickly jumped out of the gate as it tallied three goals during the first 2:35 of the contest. Watson put the Engineers on the board with an unassisted goal, and then Julia N. Roberts '10 connected on a pass from Mary P. Harding '07, which was followed by an unassisted strike from Lynne D. Tye '10.
Wheaton ended the shutout at the 19:47 mark on a goal from Caitlin Grant. The Lyons forced a turnover during an MIT clear attempt and Grant picked up the groundball and sprinted to the net for the score.
The Engineers responded with four consecutive goals which extended their lead to 7-1 with 10:31 on the clock. Watson connected on a pass from Flynn, who then recorded her first goal of the night. Roberts and Amanda P. Hunter '07 completed the spurt with unassisted goals.
Just over two minutes later, Grant found Williams for her first score to pull Wheaton within 5. But once again, MIT countered with a long run, this time scoring five unanswered goals which resulted in a 12-2 advantage at the intermission. A goal by Roberts that was set up by Watson sparked the run as Watson completed the hat trick with 3:19 to go. Samantha F. O'Keefe '09 notched what proved to be the game-winning goal on the ensuing draw while Flynn and Mary Harding rounded out the scoring for the Engineers.
Flynn converted MIT's first free position shot of the game to start the second half to give MIT its biggest lead of the night at 13-2.
Wheaton then tallied three goals in a span of 1:36, which cut its deficit to 13-5 at 22:42. Williams' free position goal ignited the run, which was followed by an unassisted goal from Meredith Hurd and a free position goal by Abbie Sherwin. Flynn found the back of the net for the Engineers before two quick goals from the Lyons' Williams and Hurd narrowed the gap to 14-7 midway through the half.
Watson recorded the final score for MIT with 13:35 left to play. Wheaton continued to attack as Williams connected on a pass from Alexa Jurczak at the 7:30 mark. The remainder of the game was a defensive battle until a turnover by the Engineers set up Grant for the night's last goal as the horn sounded.
O'Keefe collected a game-high four groundballs while Annamaria E. Ayuso '07 and Hunter each posted three draw controls. In net, HeeJay Kang '07 made eight saves as her record improved to 4-6 on the year.
MIT will close out regular season NEWMAC play on Saturday, April 21 when it travels to Mount Holyoke College.