THE BASICS:
 
- Score: No. 20 MIT 5, Western New England University 1
 
- Records: No. 20 MIT (4-0); WNE (2-1)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Jack Barry Field)
 
- The Lead: Two early goals as well as a natural hat trick by senior Paige Forester (Glencoe, Ill.) propelled the nationally-ranked No. 20 MIT field hockey team to a 5-1 victory over Western New England University on Saturday afternoon.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- Sophomore Eva Oppenheim (Larkspur, Calif.) tapped in the ball from a scrum in front of the goal after 2:51 elapsed in the game. Exactly 1:23 later, Forester knocked in the rebound of her saved shot during a penalty corner.
 
- Both of the Engineers' shots in the second quarter resulted in goals by Forester and a 4-0 lead at halftime. In the 19^th minute, she took the ball in front of the cage and slipped it past WNE goalie Zoey Wexler. Forester completed the hat trick in the 23^rd minute when she fired a shot into the back of the net.
 
- Sophomore Alice Zehner (Gladwyne, Pa.) produced MIT's final goal after she got past the Golden Bears' backline and sent an unassisted blast in the 34^th minute.
 
- WNE ended the shutout in the 47^th minute as Emily Campbell scored following a penalty corner.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Senior goalie Kiely Smiga-McManus (Etna, N.H.) made two saves for MIT while senior Carly Briggs (Lexington, Mass.) registered a defensive save with 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

- Wexler finished with nine saves for the Golden Bears.
 
- The Engineers had the upper hand in shots (16-7), shots on goal (14-4), and penalty corners (9-6). WNE, however, had a 4-1 advantage in penalty corners during the fourth quarter.
 
- This was the first meeting between both programs since 1997 and MIT now leads the series 12-4-1.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- Both teams will host non-conference opponents on Tuesday, Sept. 13. MIT will play No. 4 Tufts University at 6:00 p.m. while WNE will take the field against Connecticut College an hour later.
 
STAY CONNECTED:
 
- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Read Full Article