Field hockey falls to Wellesley College, 4-0
MIT drops to 10–2 overall and 5–1 in conference play after the defeat
A strong second half performance that featured three goals propelled nationally-ranked No. 10 Wellesley College to a 4-0 victory over MIT in a NEWMAC field hockey game on Tuesday night. Natalie Gruet produced two goals for the Blue, which improved to 14-2 on the year and 7-0 in conference play. The Engineers, meanwhile, saw their four-game winning streak come to an end as their ledger dipped to 10-2 overall and 5-1 in the NEWMAC.
The early stages were a back-and-forth affair until MIT strung together three penalty corners and four shots in a six-minute span. Wellesley responded with a trio of penalty corners and two shots on goal before Gruet found the back of the net with 10:48 left in the half. After goalie Paige V. Kennedy ’16 kicked away a shot by Anissa Shridhar, Gruet corralled the loose ball along the far endline and then curled back into the arc where she sent a strike to the near post. The Engineers withstood another surge by the visitors before both sides generated a frantic final minute of action but it did not result in a goal.
Wellesley wasted little time in increasing its cushion as it went up 2-0 after 4:12 elapsed in the second half. On a penalty corner, Courtney Peterson inserted the ball and it eventually made its way to Meghan Peterson whose shot was turned away by netminder Evie Kyritsis. Courtney Peterson then quickly redirected the carom for her 11th marker of the season.
The Blue continued to control the action, resulting in Gruet’s second strike of the night. With the ball at the top of the arc, Emmy Hamilton sent it through MIT’s defense to the far post where Gruet tipped it in with 26:30 on the clock. Stymied for most of the frame, the Engineers nearly ended the shutout on a quick hit by junior Morgan E. Gulliver ’16 with eight minutes to go but Lucy Hurlock denied the attempt. Wellesley replied by capping the scoring 90 seconds later when Sridhar collected the rebound of Courtney Peterson’s saved shot and slipped it past Kyritsis.
In net, Kennedy tallied seven saves in the first half while Kyritsis closed the game with eight stops. Hurlock, meanwhile, stopped three shots in her second shutout of the season, including a jumping swipe with eight seconds to go.
Both squads continue NEWMAC play on the road on Saturday, Oct. 25. MIT will travel to No. 17 Mount Holyoke College while Wellesley will visit Clark University.