Lacrosse Falls To Wellesley Despite 3-0 Start
Seven second-half goals by Wellesley College helped power it to a 13-7 victory over MIT in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's lacrosse game on Tuesday.
Haley Geller posted a game-high seven points on three goals and four assists for the Blue (7-3, 2-0 NEWMAC). Laura C. Watson '08 and Casey M. Flynn '10 paced the Engineers (2-4, 0-1 NEWMAC) with two goals apiece.
MIT quickly got on the scoreboard when Flynn converted a free position shot after only 45 seconds had elapsed in the first half. She extended the Engineers' lead with an unassisted tally which was followed by a goal from Watson, making the score 3-0.
Wellesley ended the shutout at the 19:19 mark on a goal by Maxine Brownstein that was set up by Casey Logan. Tech extended its margin to 4-1 almost three minutes later on an unassisted strike by Watson.
The Blue responded by outscoring the Engineers, 5-1, to close the half. During the spurt, Geller tallied one goal and two assists while Colette Whitaker found the back of the net twice. Brownstein and Meeker each contributed a goal for Wellesley. MIT's lone goal down the stretch came from Clara S. Bennett '10 who was fouled just beyond the eight-meter mark. The freshman defender quickly placed a bounce shot just out of the reach of Wellesley's netminder for the first goal of her career.
Wellesley carried the momentum into the second half as its lead grew to 7-5 following a goal by Logan. The Engineers cut their deficit in half on a blast from Lynne D. Tye '10 at the 27-minute mark.
The Blue continued to attack, scoring six unanswered goals that raised its advantage to 13-6. Logan's free position shot sparked the rally and she then earned an assist on the first of back-to-back goals by Geller. Whitaker followed up with two consecutive goals, with assists going to Amber Evans and Geller. Catherine Schaefer registered Wellesley's final goal of the night after connecting on a pass from Geller.
MIT's Samantha F. O'Keefe '09 ended a 25-minute scoring drought with 1:54 on the clock, scoring the final goal of the game.
Julia N. Roberts '10 recorded a game-high five draw controls while Stephanie V. Brenman '09 notched five groundballs for the Engineers. Annamarie E. Ayuso '07 totaled three caused turnovers as HeeJay Kang '07 collected 10 saves, including four stops on free position shots.
The Engineers are back in action tomorrow against Springfield College at 1:00 p.m.