Women’s soccer earns win
Overtime goal lifts MIT past Clark University
Nicole M. Miko ’18 registered her first goal of the season at 98:58 in overtime following a feed from Morgan K. Moroi ’16 as the Engineers rallied to defeat Clark University, 2-1, on Saturday, October 11 in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play. With the victory, MIT improves to 8-3-2 overall and 4-0-1 in conference play, while Clark falls to 1-11-0 and 0-4-0.
Ambika M. Krishnamachar ’15, Moroi and Olivia M. Struckman ’18 combined for four shots in the first half, but the first three attempts sailed wide, while the fourth was deflected by Clark goalkeeper Gabby Paolini. MIT continued to pester the Cougars’ backline with additional shots from Moroi and Faith C. OBrian ’15, but neither attempt landed in the back of the net. Clark managed to score on their first shot of the contest when Charlotte Mays dribbled into the box and sailed a shot past MIT goalkeeper Lauren S. Ullmann ’17 into the far left corner at 20:55.
Clark held a 1-0 advantage heading into the break, but MIT evened the score halfway through the second half when Julia M. Goupil ’18 headed in her second goal of the season following a cross from Elena A. Gianotas ’15 at 63:17. Moroi and Kathleen H. Chen ’17 tried to net the go-ahead goal at 73:43 and 73:49, but both shots were turned away by Paolini. MIT Michelle Battipaglia ’15 also had a chance to push the visitors ahead with a penalty shot at 89:53, but her shot was stopped by Paolini.
In overtime, the Engineers recorded four consecutive shots before Miko located the back of the net following a pass from Moroi. Miko fired her second shot of the contest toward the upper right corner of the Clark net to seal the win.
MIT outshot Clark, 31-4, and held an advantage in corners, nine to two. Paolino finished with a season-best 16 stops, including seven saves in the second half. Moroi and Krishnamachar combined for 12 shots, including seven directed toward net.
Both teams return to action next Tuesday, October 14 as MIT hosts Wellesley College for a 4:00 p.m. kickoff, while Clark welcomes Springfield College for a 6:00 p.m. start.