CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Oct. 15, 2011) – Junior forward Kimberly Barker found the back of the cage with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation to lift the MIT field hockey team to a dramatic 3-2 victory over Mount Holyoke College this afternoon at Jack Barry Field. With the win, the Engineers grabbed sole possession of first place in the NEWMAC. Both teams entered the contest with just one loss in league play. Senior forward Shara Robertson figured in on both goals for the Lyons, scoring one and assisting on the other.
MIT jumped out to a 1-0 advantage 1:51 into the match, when senior Kameron Klauber scored off an assist from sophomore Molly Duffy. After receiving the ball on the left side, Duffy broke free and drew senior goalkeeper Katie Gibson off her line with a crossing pass. The feed made its way to Klauber, who finished out the play with her 13th goal of the year.
Mount Holyoke responded with two unanswered goals over a span of five minutes. The first came from first year midfielder Kirsten Kilburn, who took a Robertson injection and blasted a shot past MIT sophomore goalkeeper Casey Landry from the top of the circle. Robertson then scored one of her own at the 26:53 mark to put the guests in front 2-1. It was her team-leading 15th tally of the fall.
The Lyons continued to dominate possession in the early stages of the second stanza but were unable to add to their lead despite eight shots over the first 15 minutes.
Momentum shifted toward MIT midway through the half, when junior midfielder Molly McShane took advantage of a penalty corner opportunity to knot things up at 2-2. After collecting a pass from senior defender Anna Teruya at the top of the circle, she lofted a high arcing shot over Gibson's head. Her first goal of the year set the stage for what proved to be a thrilling finish.
The contest was still tied up in the waning minutes until Barker capped off a frantic scramble with her 10th goal of the year. Klauber was credited with the assist on the play.
MIT (13-2, 5-1 NEWMAC) finished with advantages in shots (24-16) and corners (12-9). Landry got the start between the pipes for the Engineers. She made three saves in the first half before giving way to first year Jenna Klein, who stopped one shot after the intermission. Gibson came up with 10 saves for the Lyons, who saw their three-match winning streak come to an end.
Mount Holyoke (8-4, 3-2 NEWMAC) will resume its NEWMAC schedule on Tuesday, when it visits WPI at 7:00 p.m.
Inside photo by Leila Quinn '12
