#20 MIT BLANKS WOMEN’S SOCCER

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A balanced scoring attack coupled with great defensive tactics led the #20 nationally ranked MIT women's soccer team to a 5-0 non-conference win over Emmanuel College in its second home game of the season on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Annelise Steele (Greenwich, Conn.) led the way with two goals, the first of her collegiate season, while senior Rachel Dias Carlson (Albany, N.Y.) racked up three assists. The Engineers are now 3-1 for the season, while the Saints dipped to 2-2.

The first half of the game started aggressively, with the ball never staying in one team's possession for too long. Junior Jessica Ong (Oklahoma City, Okla.) took the first shot at net a minute and a half into play, but it was knocked out of play. Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Ullmann (Princeton, N.J.) had to make a quick save at the three-minute mark when Emmanuel's Darcey Sullivan (Dalton, Mass.) fired a shot directly to her. MIT turned up the tempo further, taking four back-to-back shots at Saints' keeper Brenna Smith (Wantagh, N.Y.), but all were saved or knocked out. At 16:01, however, sophomore Morgan Moroi (New Albany, Ohio) received a pass from Dias Carlson, and scored her first goal of the season, and the second of her collegiate career, getting the Engineers on the board very early in the game.

Exactly 16 minutes later, following two more saves by Ullmann and four by Smith, Tech scored its second goal of the day when Steele, also assisted by Dias Carlson, shot the ball past Smith's fingertips and buried it in the back of the net. With one more save for both goalies, the period ended with an MIT lead of 2-0.

Relieving Smith in goal for the second half was Jenna Marcello (Hopedale, Mass.), who was put to work immediately following the teams' return to the field, making a save just 28 seconds in. Junior Emilee Johnson (O'Fallon, Mo.), making her first appearance in the net this season, replaced Ullmann. At 50:05, half a minute after having one of her shots saved by Marcello, Ong was able to slip the ball past the keeper and into the net, marking her first goal of the season. Four minutes later, following a shot by sophomore Priyanka Gaur (Austin, Texas) that was blocked, the ball hit off one of the Saints' defenders and rolled into the net, scoring an own goal and increasing the Engineers' lead to four goals.

Sullivan had yet another opportunity, when she fired the ball at the net at the 64 minute mark, but Johnson was able to make the save. Four minutes later, Johnson had to make two back-to-back saves, this time shot by Savannah Lundwall (Fiskdale, Mass.) and Catherine Edmonds (Acton, Mass.). The score remained the same until 86:27, when Steele received a pass from Gaur and fired the ball into the right side of the net, past Marcello's outstretched hands, scoring her second goal of the day. With a dangerous shot by Dias Carlson at 87:31 that could have resulted in a goal had Marcello not sprang into action, the game ended with an Engineers' victory.

MIT outshot Emmanuel 32-11. The Saints saved exactly half of those shots, while MIT saved nine. Ullmann earned her third win of the season by making five saves throughout her 45 minutes in net, while Johnson, who also appeared in the cage for 45 minutes, made four saves. 

Tech will return to Roberts Field on Tuesday, Sept. 7 when it hosts cross-town rival Tufts University at 4:30 p.m.  Emmanuel is back in action on Wednesday, September 11^th, when the Saints walk over to Wentworth Institute of Technology for a Colleges of the Fenway (COF) battle beginning at 7:00 PM.

- Recap courtesy of MIT Sports Information