CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Top-seeded and nationally ranked No. 24 MIT held No. 2 seed U.S. Coast Guard Academy scoreless until early in the third quarter en route to a 12-5 victory in the NEWMAC Women's Lacrosse Championship on Saturday afternoon at Jack Barry Field. The Engineers captured the program's second consecutive title and third overall and will be making their fifth appearance in the upcoming NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Championship.
Pauline Vien was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player for the second year in a row after her stellar performances throughout the week. In addition,
Nina Petulla received the Laurels of Academic Excellence Award which honors the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing in the NEWMAC Championship.
THE BASICS:
- Score: No. 24 MIT 12, Coast Guard 5
- Records: No. 24 MIT (16-3 Overall); Coast Guard (14-3 Overall)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Annica Lam put MIT on the scoreboard first when she connected on a pass from Ashley Thomas for a player advantage goal at the 7:53 mark. Lam buried an unassisted goal just over two minutes later and then Nina Petulla gave the Engineers a 3-0 lead with 1:39 to go in the opening frame.
- Samantha Moorhead increased the cushion with a free position goal after 2:45 elapsed in the second quarter. The Lam-Thomas connection returned with 9:29 on the clock, producing a player-down goal and a 5-0 lead which stood entering halftime.
- MIT kicked off the third quarter with a player-advantage goal from Lam that was set up by Thomas after 58 seconds elapsed. Abby McAllister ended the shutout at the 12:43 mark; however, MIT responded with back-to-back goals in a span of 1:27 as Thomas was a factor in both. First, she earned an assist on a blast by Petulla and then she redirected a feed from Gwen Flusche, making the score 8-1. McAllister replied with a pair of goals just 49 seconds apart midway through the period, but Thomas converted a free position goal with 1:47 remaining.
- A player advantage goal from Petulla 1:42 into the fourth quarter completed the hat trick and helped Thomas break the program record for assists in a season. The previous mark was 68 which she set last season.
- Coast Guard ended its scoring drought when Isabella Judge found McAllister at the 7:49 mark. A minute later, Jillian Butler converted her free position attempt for the hosts, making the score 11-4. Elizabeth Pearcy quickly tallied a player advantage goal courtesy of a pass from McAllister, but Lam capped the scoring with another player advantage goal that was set up by Thomas with 2:59 remaining.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Thomas amassed two goals and six assists while Lam finished with five goals and two draw controls.
- Petulla notched three goals as Butler collected three draw controls.
- Vien totaled 12 saves and five groundballs while Mairin Anderson registered five caused turnovers and three groundballs.
- McAllister ended the day with four goals, one assist, three caused turnovers, and two groundballs.
- Rowan Walsh and Judge both produced two caused turnovers as Ella Campbell collected three draw controls and two groundballs.
- In net, Kailee Heron tallied six saves, four groundballs, and one caused turnover.
- This was the second postseason meeting between both programs. The first occurred in the semifinals of the NEWMAC Championship in 2023 where the Engineers defeated the Bears, 16-6.
UP NEXT:
- MIT will learn the location and its opponent for the opening round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Lacrosse Championship when the tournament field is announced in a selection show on Monday, May 4 at 10:30 Eastern on www.ncaa.com.
STAY CONNECTED:
