WORCESTER, Mass. -- Mount Holyoke junior Anna Kennedy tied the score at 1-1 with her third goal of the season, but the host WPI Engineers retook the lead in the second half on a late goal by Abigail Johnson to win the teams' regular-season finale 2-1 on Saturday.
An early goal by Maeve Steckley staked WPI (8-6-4, 5-4-2 NEWMAC) to a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute. The Engineers totaled 17 points in league play and tied for fifth in the 12-team standings with Wheaton and Emerson.
Mount Holyoke finishes with a 4-4-6 overall record, including a 1-4-6 mark in league play. The Lyons began the day with an outside chance for a playoff berth.
The Engineers took an early lead at 9:13 when Katie Adiletta dribbled past defenders and sent a well-placed pass across the box to Steckley, who fired a shot to the far post, marking her sixth goal of the season.
The Lyons wasted no time in evening the score at 1-1 at 20:40. Kennedy (Glendale, Wis.) broke free from the WPI defense, positioning herself to receive a header from the hosts after a long ball, and slid the ball past the goalkeeper for her third of the year.
The rest of the half stayed scoreless, with WPI leading in shots, 4-2, and claiming all three corner kicks. The Lyons' had the best chance of the remaining minutes, which came at 36:43 when first-year Ania McMichael (Glastonbury, Conn.) found herself in a one-on-one showdown with WPI goalie Lili Hellerman. McMichael unleashed a powerful strike, but Hellerman was quick to make the crucial save, keeping the game tied going into intermission.
WPI took 13 of the 14 total shots and all four corner kicks in the second half. Just as the match seemed headed for a draw, Johnson broke the deadlock, pushing the score to 2-1. A well-timed pass upfield from Lottie McLeod found Johnson in stride, and she capitalized with a breakaway shot to the bottom right corner, securing her fourth goal of the season at 78:28.
The Engineers outshot the Lyons 25-5 and took all 10 corner kicks of the match.
For the Engineers, Hellerman batted away two attempts, while sophomore Evie Krieg (Frisco, Texas) blocked 13 shots for the Lyons.
