CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The No. 24 MIT women's lacrosse team wrapped up the NEWMAC regular season by defeating Smith College, 20-2, on Wednesday night. With the win, the Engineers secured the top seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Championship and earned the program's second regular season title.
Ashley Thomas led MIT with six goals and four assists, becoming the fourth player in the history of NCAA Division III women's lacrosse to record 200 career goals and 200 assists. Jenna Paczkowski powered the Bears with one goal, two draw controls, and one caused turnover.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 24 MIT 20, Smith 2
- Records: No. 24 MIT (14-3 Overall, 10-0 NEWMAC); Smith (10-7 Overall, 6-4 NEWMAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nina Petulla found the back of the net after 1:47 elapsed, sparking an 8-0 run by MIT. Thomas produced two goals and two assists, Petulla contributed two goals and an assist, Alexis Reinard had two goals and an assist, and Annica Lam scored twice.
- Smith ended the shutout with 1:40 on the clock when Layna Fitzgerald connected on a pass from Caroline Sanders, resulting in the 200th career point for Sanders. However, the Engineers replied with Lam completing the hat trick on a pass from Thomas 29 seconds later.
- MIT controlled the action in the second quarter as it tallied five unanswered goals for a 14-1 advantage at halftime. Thomas notched three goals, including a player-advantage free position goal, while Cecilia McCarthy and Petulla also added goals of their own.
- Paczkowski ended the Bears' scoring drought at the 11:20 mark of the third quarter. However, the Engineers tacked on two goals in that frame and added four in the fourth quarter for the 20-2 final score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Petulla finished with four goals, two assists, five draw controls, and two groundballs as Lam posted three goals and one assist.
- Gwen Flusche, Mary Breckling, and Loralei Quinn each collected three groundballs while Mairin Anderson recorded three caused turnovers and two draw controls.
- In net, Ashton Flather made one save in the first half while Christina Fradella turned away four shots in the second half.
- Sanders ended the night with three groundballs, two draw controls, and one caused turnover as Adelia Bandsma posted two groundballs.
- Jordan Hoffman and Caroline Weyhrich both corralled three draw controls.
- In net, Brooke Testa registered two saves and a groundball in the first quarter while Shannon Houtenville closed out the game with six saves, one caused turnover, and one groundball.
UP NEXT:
- Both teams will continue their seasons in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament.
- MIT is the No. 1 seed and will host either No. 4 Babson College or No. 5 Smith on Wednesday, April 29 at 6:00 PM.
- As the No. 5 seed, Smith will travel to No. 4 Babson for a first round game on Saturday, April 25 at 1:00 PM.
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