THE BASICS:
 
- Score: No. 16 MIT 8, Gordon College 0
 
- Records: No. 16 MIT (1-0); Gordon (0-1)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Jack Barry Field)
 
- The Lead: The nationally-ranked No. 16 MIT field hockey team generated five goals in the first half en route to an 8-0 victory over Gordon College in the season opener for both squads on Wednesday night. Junior Liberty Ladd (Falmouth, Maine) powered the Engineers with the first hat trick of her career and added her first career assist.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- 4^th Minute (3:24) – MIT 1, Gordon 0: Junior Paige Forester (Glencoe, Ill.) sent a pass from the far side to Ladd who spun around and sent the ball to the near post.
 
- 13^th Minute (12:24) – MIT 2, Gordon 0: Forester collected a quick feed by senior Emily Genevriere (San Jose, Calif.) from the far end line and tapped in a shot to the near post.
 
- 17^th Minute (16:12) – MIT 3, Gordon 0: Ladd redirected another feed from Forester that came from the far end line which went to the near post.
 
- 22^nd Minute (21:55) – MIT 4, Gordon 0: On a penalty corner, senior Laura Chen (Califon, N.J.) inserted the ball to Ladd who took a shot but Forester deflected it in midair and into the back of the net.
 
- 28^th Minute (27:35) – MIT 5, Gordon 0: Chen earned another assist during a penalty corner when a shot by junior Carly Briggs (Lexington, Mass.) deflected off a defender's stick and slipped past goalie Sophea Zaskoda.
 
- 32^nd Minute (31:55) – MIT 6, Gordon 0: Ladd completed the hat trick when she knocked in the ball during a scramble in front of the net.
 
- 35^th Minute (34:14) – MIT 7, Gordon 0: Chen tapped in the rebound of junior Helen Liu's (Short Hills, N.J.) saved shot.
 
- 56^th Minute (55:24) – MIT 8, Gordon 0: On a penalty corner, junior Laura Schwendeman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) knocked in the ball at the far post following feeds from first-year Faith Choe (San Diego, Calif.) and junior Erica Radler (Wayne, N.J.).
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Forester finished with two goals and two assists while Chen had one goal and two assists.
 
- In net for MIT, senior Juliana Strother (Mequon, Wis.) did not register any saves in 45 minutes of action while making the first start of her career. She faced one shot which came during a trio of penalty corners at the end of the third quarter. First-year Anna Duncan (St. Louis, Mo.) made her intercollegiate debut as she closed out the game for the Engineers.
 
- Zaskoda ended the night with five saves, including three straight stops at the end of the second quarter. Ella Gerrard played the second half for Gordon and turned away three shots. Emily Ward bolstered the Fighting Scots' backline with a defensive save early in the second quarter.
 
- The Engineers led the way in shots (26-1), shots on goal (17-0), and penalty corners (14-3).
 
- This was the 11^th year in a row MIT won its home-opener. In addition, the victory was the first for head coach Sarah Shute.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- Both squads will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 4 at home. MIT will host the University of New England at 1:30 p.m. while Gordon will take the field against Salem State University at 12:00 p.m.
 
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