MIT Holds Off Lacrosse, 16-11
SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (April 18, 2009) – Senior midfielder Samantha O’Keefe erupted for six goals and one assist, as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology women’s lacrosse team picked up a 16-11 victory over Mount Holyoke College this afternoon at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field. It was the Engineers sixth straight win over their New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rivals and their seventh consecutive triumph overall.
MIT finished with advantages in shots (32-27), ground balls (15-11) and draw controls (16-13). In addition to O’Keefe’s seven points, the Engineers also received solid production from sophomore attacker Erica Little, who recorded three goals and a helper. Kelly Duncan, Lynne Tye and Casey Flynn added two tallies apiece. Senior defender Stephanie Brenman contributed seven draw controls.
Leading the way for Mount Holyoke were senior Ava Gottschall and first year Taylor Hedges. The midfielders registered three goals and one assist each. Gottschall also chipped in with six draw controls for the Lyons, who fell for the eighth time in a row. Sophomore attacker Clara Raugei netted a hat trick, while first year midfielder Hilary Bombard chipped in with one goal and a pair of helpers.
The contest was knotted at 2-2 in the early going, but MIT rallied for four straight goals to gain control of things. Flynn tallied twice during the spurt, which spanned five minutes. Her second put the Engineers in front 6-2 at the 14:42 mark. MIT’s cushion grew to 11-5 at the break. Four of O’Keefe’s six tallies came in the first half.
After closing out the opening frame with two straight goals, the Engineers scored the first four goals of the second stanza to put things out of reach. They enjoyed a 15-5 advantage following a Little goal with 25:22 remaining in regulation.
Mount Holyoke closed out the contest with five consecutive goals to slice the deficit to 16-11, but it was not enough. Gottschall scored all thee of her goals during the late rally.
MIT sophomore goalkeeper Molly McMartin finished with ten saves. At the other end, sophomore Missy Hartley turned away one shot for the hosts before giving way to first year Jeanmarie Petersen, who made six stops in the final 40 minutes..
Both squads are slated to resume their NEWMAC schedules on Tuesday. Mount Holyoke (3-10, 0-5 NEWMAC) will visit local rival Smith College at 5:00 p.m., while MIT (10-3, 3-1 NEWMAC) will host nationally ranked Babson College at 6:00 p.m.