SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. - First year forward Angie Ferro scored with 3:45 remaining in overtime to lift Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to a 3-2 victory over Mount Holyoke College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Friday evening. The victory moves the Engineers to 12-4 overall and 5-3 in conference play - giving them sole possession of third place in the standings. The Lyons are now 9-9 and 4-4 in the NEWMAC. Both teams will play in the NEWMAC Tournament beginning Tuesday (Oct. 30), but seedings will not be announced until Sunday after all games have been played.
Facing a 2-1 deficit with less than four minutes to play, WPI sent the contest into overtime after sophomore forward Abby O'Sullivan (Walpole, Mass./Walpole) rushed into the middle, tipping a shot off the stick of junior forward Carly Cidado (Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) right into the left corner of the goal. In the extra session, both teams had their chances, including a shot by Lyons rookie Margaret Robb (Summit, N.J./Summit), who fired in a shot that was saved and was able to get another shot in that was saved on the line by junior defender Hannah Larochelle (New Boston, N.H./Goffstown).
As the clock continued to wind down, junior defender Shannon Hynes (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) navigated the ball into the circle sending it onto the stick of Ferro (Northboro, Mass./Algonquin Regional). She took a quick shot that was stopped by MHC goalie Morgan Turner (Chester, N.J./West Morris Mendham), but the ball trickled into the net after the rebound bounced off an MHC defender, who tried to make the stop at the line, but the ball went in for the game-winner.
Mount Holyoke opened the game's scoring as senior forward Kristina Ramsden (Florence, Mass./Northampton) tipped in a shot from the circle by classmate and captain Colby Newsham (Harvard, Mass./Bromfield School) just 4:52 into the contest. WPI answered as O'Sullivan stole the ball away from an MHC defender, going in on a 2-on-1 with a shot into the open right side.
The Lyons grabbed the 2-1 advantage early in the second half after Robb buried her own rebounded shot into the left corner past senior goalie Karen Mushrall (Mariaville, Maine/John Bapst Memorial) at 38:04. The Lyons had a number of opportunities to wrap up the game, outshooting the Engineers by a 10-6 margin in the second stanza, but O'Sullivan's score late in the frame sent the contest into overtime.
Mount Holyoke owned a 20-13 edge in shots and also had a 7-4 advantage in corners for the contest. Mushrall improved to 12-4 on the season with seven saves, while Turner moved to 8-8 on the season with six stops.
Again, both teams now wait for the final seedings to determine where they will play in the NEWMAC Tournament beginning Tuesday (Oct. 30). All regular season games will conclude in the conference on Sunday.
