MIT Women’s Soccer beats Johnson & Wales University
Engineers Women’s Soccer won by 3-0 in the first round but lost on penalties to get knocked out second round
MAXWELL YUN — THE TECH
MIT Women’s Soccer played in the first and second round of the NCAA Division III Soccer Championship over the weekend at the Steinbrenner Stadium. In the first-round game played on Saturday, Nov. 16, MIT beat Johnson & Wales University 3-0. Montana Reilly ’20 dominated this game by scoring two goals and assisting one. In the second-round game, MIT played defending champions Williams College on Sunday, Nov. 16. Unfortunately, the Engineers lost this game 5-4 in penalty kicks after a hard fought 1-1 draw.
The first game against JWU started off with a goalless first half. The first goal of the game came three minutes into the second half. Reilly scored this goal as she fired the ball into the goal as it rebounded off the opponent goalkeeper’s initial save. For the next 35 minutes, MIT kept its 1-0 lead, credit to the excellent defense by the MIT back line. In the last six minutes of the game, MIT scored two more goals to finish the game 3-0. Reilly also scored the second goal of the game, while Sophia Struckman ’20 scored the final goal off a cross from Reilly.
The second game against Williams College also started off with a goalless first half as both teams displayed excellent defense. MIT scored the first goal of the game early in the second half as Karenna Groff ’22 scored off an assist from Reilly. As time came close to an end, it felt like MIT was going to gain this victory, but out of nowhere Alison Lu scored for Williams with three minutes left on the board. With regulation ending at 1-1, the match moved into overtime. In the 20 minutes of overtime, MIT pressed hard on attack as they outshot Williams College 7-1, but they were still unable to find the back of the net due to excellent goalkeeping by Williams goalkeeper Chelsea Taylor. With nothing to separate the two teams, the match went onto penalty kicks. Unfortunately, Williams won the penalty shootout 5-4, as Taylor successfully saved one MIT shot.
This was the last game of the season for MIT. Even though they could not win the NCAA championship, the season was still a success, as the team broke the single season records for longest winning streak (14), longest unbeaten streak (21), and most goals (80), as well as winning the NEWMAC championship for the third consecutive year. A stellar individual record was also set as Groff registered 17 goals and 41 points in the season, becoming the first since Amy Ludlum in 2006 to accomplish this.