Box Score
Hosting the Engineers of MIT in a non-conference tilt at the Brigham Athletic Complex tonight, the Fighting Scots started their 2012 campaign with authority, claiming a 16-13 win over their guests to improve to 1-0 overall.

After MIT got the scoring going early behind goals by Laura Wacker (Jr./Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Lyndsy Muri (Fr./Ashland, Mass.) in the opening three minutes, Stephanie Fitzgerald (So./Groveland, Mass.) put the Scots on the board with her first of four goals on the night, finishing a feed from Anna Blomberg (So./Simsbury, Conn.) to make it a 2-1 game. One minute later, Wacker netted her second of the first half on a solo effort, to which Gordon's Abby Illian (Fr./Hillsdale, N.J.) and Jordan Alexander (Sr./Portland, Maine) responded with a goal each to draw the game to an even 3-3 at the 24:05 mark.

With the game remaining in a deadlock after both teams traded single tallies (one each from Wacker and Fitzergald), the Scots took their first lead of the night when Jocie Knaus (Sr./Kensington, Conn.) found the net off a Fitzgerald assist, a lead that was pushed to 7-4 at 5:42 following an unassisted effort from Alexander and a free position conversion from Illian. Determined to stop the run, Wacker completed her first half hat-trick, collecting a feed from Katie Kauffman (Sr./Olney, Md.) and besting Gordon keeper Danielle Maguire (So./Braintree, Mass.) to make it a 7-5 game, only to have that goal matched by Fitzgerald's third of the night on a free position just one minute later. Then in the final minute, the Scots and Engineers traded goals once again, as MIT's Meghan Wright (Jr./Devon, Pa.) hit a free position with just over 30 seconds remaining and Fitzgerald scored immediately off the ensuing draw to make it a 9-6 game in favor of the Scots at the break.

Looking to generate some offensive momentum at the outset of the second stanza, MIT's Kauffman netted a trio of goals and Molly McShane (Jr./Lake Bluff, Ill.) chipped in one of her own while the Engineers' defense buckled down to hold Gordon to just a single tally, making it an even 10-10 at the 14:58 mark. From there, however, Gordon's Blomberg took matters into her own hands, netting each of her four goals on the night over the course of the next six minutes to help the Scots establish a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Fitzgerald and Blomberg finished the night as the game's leading scorers with four goals and an assist apiece, while Fitzgerald also nabbed a game-high 10 draw controls from the center spot. Alexander rounded out the night with a four-goal effort, while Knaus and Illian finished with two goals and an assist each, Krysti Leach (Sr./Naples, Maine) dished two assists and collected eight draw controls out of the defensive midfield, and Maguire posted nine saves between the pipes for the win.

For MIT, Wacker led the offensive with an impressive four-goal outing, while Kauffman finished with three goals and two assists, Kaitlyn Nealon (So./Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) contributed a hat-trick, McShane and Wright added a goal and an assist each, and Muri chipped in a solo tally. In the cage, Sarah Ritter (So./The Woodlands, Texas) turned away 11 of the Scots' attempts.

The Scots return to their home field on Thursday, March 8 as they host non-conference Simmons at 6:00p.m. MIT returns to action on Tuesday, March 13 as they host Williams at 7:00p.m.