CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The Wheaton College (Mass. field hockey team was defeated at host No. 16 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 6-0, this afternoon in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play on Jack Barry Field in Cambridge, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 6-4 overall and 0-3 in league play, while the Engineers, who are ranked in the most recent National Field Hockey Coaches Association national poll, win their third straight improve to 7-3 and a perfect 3-0 in NEWMAC play.
MIT controlled play for the majority of the match, holding a 36-4 shot advantage, while owning a 12-2 margin in penalty corners.
Sophomore midfielder Ingrid Tomovski (Bosch en Duin, Netherlands) tallied the final four goals of the afternoon to cement the victory for the home team.
Wheaton's defense held the Engineers to just four shots in the opening quarter and without a goal through the contest's first 18 minutes of play.
MIT's offense came to life and erupted for three goals in a span of 75 seconds in the first five minutes of the second quarter. The Engineers' pivotal three-goal burst began 3:42 into the second quarter when senior midfielder Eva Oppenheim (Tiburon, Calif.) collected a loose ball in the arc and sent it to sophomore midfielder Jane Tortorella (Old Greenwich, Conn.) who tapped it in at the far post. Exactly 28 seconds later, Oppenheim connected on a feed from senior midfielder Alice Zehner (Gladwyne, Pa.) at the near post. Tomovski produced the final goal of the run just 47 seconds later when she dribbled along the endline into the middle of the arc and placed a shot to the near post.
MIT wasted no time to add to its three-goal advantage, scoring twice within the first 2:16 of the third quarter to take a 5-0 lead. Tomovski carried the ball to the middle of the arc, where she unleashed a back-handed shot into the back of the cage just 61 seconds into the new half to give the Engineers a 4-0 lead. She needed just 75 seconds to tally her third goal of the afternoon when she carried the ball into the left side of the arc and snuck a shot just inside the near left post with 12:44 remaining in the quarter.
Timovski's final marker came when she carried the ball into the arc and fired a shot that was denied, but the ball spilled out to her near the right post. She carried the ball across the goalmouth, before uncorking another backhanded shot that skipped over the Lyon keeper's stick for the score with just 3:18 remaining in the game.
Wheaton's best chance to get on the board came during a 24-second span, including a penalty corner opportunity. Senior forward Delia Knox (Cumberland, Maine) came streaking down the left side on a breakaway and was able to fire a sweeping back-handed shot that was denied by MIT senior keeper Anna Duncan (Saint Louis, Mo.) at the left post with 5:50 showing on the fourth quarter clock. First year midfielder Kayla Wilonski (Wallingford, Conn.) gathered a loose ball in front of the goalmouth just 11 seconds later, but her shot was turned away as well. The Lyons' final opportunity to crack the scoring column came on a penalty corner when sophomore midfielder Maria Worden (Burlington, Vt.) lifted a shot on frame, but Duncan batted it down with her glove to keep the shutout intact for the Engineers.
Sophomore keeper Grace Ferguson (Williston, Vt.) racked up a career-high 16 saves for Wheaton, while Duncan finished with three saves during her second half duties for MIT. Sophomore starting goalie Maeve Zimmer (Rockville, Md.) was untested in the opening stanza for the home team.
The Lyons return to action on Tuesday, October 8 when they host NEWMAC rival Salve Regina University on Nordin Field at 7:00 p.m., while the Engineers head to Wellesley, Mass. to play conference foe Wellesley College on the same day at 6:00 p.m.
