NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College field hockey team held off a late charge by MIT to pick up a 3-2 non-conference victory on Wednesday night at Silfen Field.
The Camels built a 3-0 lead in the opening half behind goals from
Sadie Gearan (Lynnfield, Mass.),
Alexa Blaeser (Boxford, Mass.) and
Frances Brisbane (Cohasset, Mass.). The Engineers countered with a pair of scores in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to one with 3:02 remaining.
Grace Johnson and Ingrid Tomovski scored goals for MIT, which dropped to 4-5 overall on the season.
Conn got off to a quick start as Gearan scored just 5:44 into the game, cashing in on the first penalty corner of the night.
Alex Flynn (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia) inserted the ball to the top of the circle for Gearan, who unleashed a rip through the defense for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
Blaeser and Brisbane added scores in the second period to give the hosts a three-goal cushion by intermission. Blaeser cleaned up a shot off the post by
Eliza Farwell (Lee. N.H.) to notch her second goal of the year, and Brisbane later converted a penalty stroke for her first career tally.
Johnson put MIT on the scoreboard early in the fourth, scoring on a deflection off a shot by Janie Thomas on a penalty corner. Less than 10 minutes later, Tomovski dribbled into the circle and lifted a shot through traffic to make it a 3-2 game.
The Engineers pushed for the game-tying goal in the final minutes, but Conn's defensive line held strong. The Camels killed off three penalty corners before the final whistle to secure the win.
Conn racked up a 14-9 advantage in total shots while MIT held a 13-4 edge in penalty corners.
Isabella Carnall (Malvern, Pa.) finished with a pair of saves for the Camels while Alexia Ninios had four for the Engineers.
Conn (2-5 overall, 0-5 NESCAC) will next play at Williams College on Saturday, October 3 at 1:00 p.m.
