MIT Women’s Soccer Falls to Colby 0-2 in the NCAA Round of 32
Over the weekend, the MIT Women’s Soccer Team hosted games for the first two rounds of the NCAA D-III Women’s Soccer Tournament at Steinbrenner Stadium. MIT won their Round of 64 match 3-1 over SUNY Geneseo, but ultimately fell short to Colby 0-2, knocking them out of the tournament and into the offseason.
Barnouw Scores 2 in 2 Minutes to Lead MIT Past SUNY Geneseo, 3-1.
In their Round of 64 match of the NCAA Tournament, MIT faced off against SUNY Geneseo (Geneseo, NY). Geneseo, champions of the Empire 8 conference, entered the game 13-4-3. Notably, senior Natalie Barnouw, the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year, did not start in this game, nursing an apparent injury.
MIT struck first with a goal by senior Meagan Rowlett at 8:51. The score was quickly answered by Geneseo’s Abby Foster, tying the game 1-1 at 10:10. The game remained tied heading into halftime.
Barnouw entered the game at the start of the second half and helped spark the MIT offense to eventually put the game away. 3:27 into the 2nd half, Barnouw scored a long goal from outside the box to break the tie and put the Engineers up 2-1. After sophomore Arianna Doss drew a foul within the box a minute and a half later, Barnouw took the penalty kick and increased the lead with another score, putting MIT up 3-1. Barnouw would later exit the game after logging only 10 minutes on the field.
The Engineer defense held Geneseo scoreless to close out the game, securing MIT’s victory and moving the team on to the Round of 32.
MIT Held Scoreless as Colby Upsets Team at Home
In their Round of 32 match of the NCAA Tournament, MIT took on Colby College (Waterville, ME). Colby, ranked 6th in the NESCAC conference, entered the game 12-4-3. This year, the NESCAC conference gave MIT trouble, handing them their only draw and loss during the regular season (MIT went 2-1-1 overall). Last year, MIT lost 0-4 to this same Colby team on October 22nd, 2023.
Colby’s Annie Liebich opened up scoring right before half with a long looping shot from just beyond midfield at 42:32, making the score 0-1.
In the second half, Barnouw entered the game after starting on the bench just as she did against SUNY Geneseo, but did not produce the same effect. She exited after only 6 minutes of action. At 60:08, Colby scored again, with Liebich sending a long free kick to the goal for Sophie DiGrande to head in over MIT’s freshman goalkeeper, Maddie Noll, doubling the deficit MIT had fallen into, 0-2.
Despite Colby’s growing lead, MIT fought hard to even the game and keep their season alive. Later shots on goal by Madelyn Popilek ‘27, Rowlett, and Doss were all denied by Colby’s goalkeeper, MK Marshall, who finished the game with 7 saves on 7 shots on goal.
MIT put up a fight to the 90th minute, but ultimately could not overcome the deficit they had fallen into, losing the game 0-2 and ending their season.
A Season in Review
Despite their early exit from the NCAA Tournament, MIT Women’s Soccer enjoyed a very successful year. They claimed their 8th-consecutive NEWMAC conference title, posted a dominant 21-win season, and saw many of their players and coaches honored with All-Conference distinctions. The team also tied their all-time winning streak record with 15 straight wins (ended by the loss to Colby).