Field Hockey Falls to WPI in Strokeoff, 2-1

Match Statistics

SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 10, 2009) – After playing to a 1-1 tie after regulation and two 15 minute overtime periods, the WPI field hockey team prevailed in a penalty strokeoff competition to secure a thrilling 2-1 triumph over New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Mount Holyoke College this afternoon at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field.

Both squads went scoreless until the 59:37 mark, when the Lyons capitalized on a penalty corner opportunity to record the first goal of the afternoon. After receiving the initial injection at the top of the circle, sophomore midfielder Taylor Hedges dished to classmate Tricia Chase on the left side. Chase proceeded to blast a reverse stick sweep past WPI senior goalkeeper Elizabeth Ray from just inside the circle. It was her first tally of the 2009 campaign.

Refusing to go away, the Engineers knotted things up at 1-1 with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. First year forward Maggie Wigley broke past several defenders into the circle and slipped a feed past Mount Holyoke sophomore goalkeeper Katie Gibson to junior midfielder Meghan Linskey, who collected the pass on the doorstep and placed a shot into the vacated cage.

Each side went scoreless over the remainder of regulation and two overtime sessions, resulting in a penalty strokeoff competition. With the contest in the balance WPI outscored Mount Holyoke 5-4 in the strokeoff to seal the win.

Mount Holyoke fell despite overwhelming advantages in both shots (27-8) and penalty corner chances (12-4). Senior Allie Griffin got the start between the pipes for the Engineers. She made five saves in the first half before giving way to Ray, who turned away 12 shots over the final 65 minutes. Ray was a standout on the strokeoff, where she made several sprawling stops. Gibson finished with two saves for the Lyons.

Both squads will resume their NEWMAC slates on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Mount Holyoke (5-5, 1-3 NEWMAC) will travel to Springfield College, while WPI (9-3, 2-2 NEWMAC) will host Wellesley College. The Lyons are scheduled to kick off a three match homestand next Friday versus Babson College at 4:30 p.m.