SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 2, 2012) – Junior midfielder Megan Forti tallied in the 16th minute and the goal held as Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) held off Mount Holyoke College in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's soccer game at the MHC Soccer Field. With the victory, the Engineers move to 5-6-0 on the season and record their first NEWMAC victory to go to 1-3-0. The homestanding Lyons slip to 2-7-1 and 1-3-0 in conference play.
An even start to the contest turned in favor of the visitors at 15:28 as Forti (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) took a long shot from the bottom of the box. The ball arched in on net, ricocheting off the right post and in past the reach of Mount Holyoke netminder Mackenzie Randall (Harwinton, Conn./Forman).
Lyons midfielder Ali Rossi (New York, N.Y.) had some of MHC's best opportunities in the first half of action. The first year made several outstanding plays, ducking around a defender on two occasions for one-on-one shots at the WPI goal. Junior netminder Maddie Willer (Penfield, N.Y.) was up to the task for the Engineers, making several scoop saves to keep it in the visitors favor.
The second half of action saw WPI come out pressing in the Mount Holyoke end as Forti had a shot ring off the left post and first yea Emily Doherty (Shrewsbury, Mass./Worcester Academy) saw a header shot get scooped up by Randall, while another rang off the crossbar and out of play.
Mount Holyoke had their chances in the second half, including a point-blank shot in front by first year Ashleigh Hartsock (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island). Her high arching shot was just saved on a leaping stretch by Willer as it went off her hands and over the net to keep it a 1-0 game.
Willer continued to frustrate the Lyons' attempts throughout the final minutes as she came out to make a number of diving saves to seal the victory for WPI. She finished with 10 saves in the contest, including seven in the first half of action.
For the Lyons, Randall stopped two shots. In the game, Mount Holyoke held a 14-13 advantage in shots, while it was an even draw on corner shots, 5-5.
Mount Holyoke is back in action on Saturday when it travels to MIT for a 5pm match. WPI is also in action on Saturday at Springfield for a 12pm contest.
