CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – MIT outscored visiting Gordon in each half on its way to a 15-9 defeat of the Fighting Scots on Friday night in Cambridge.  
 
Freshman Emily Young (La Jolla, Calif.) led all players with five goals and added three draw controls for the Engineers, who improved to 10-2 and generated the program's first back-to-back 10-win seasons. Junior Jessica Castelline (Concord, Mass.) paced the Fighting Scots with three goals and an assist as their ledger lowered to 7-6.
 
After some back-and-forth play to start the game, Young put MIT on the board at the 22:01 mark while sophomore Hannah Levy (Yardley, Pa.) quickly increased the lead. A defensive battle ensued until junior Kira Schott (New Canann, Conn.) found sophomore Erica Green (Ivyland, Pa.) to give the hosts a 3-0 cushion with 13:08 on the clock. An unassisted marker by senior Abby Illian (Hillsdale, N.J.) at 11:32 sparked a 4-2 run during the next six minutes that brought Gordon within one (5-4). The Engineers gained some breathing room courtesy of free-position strikes from Young and Schott during the last 2:29 of the half.
 
MIT's offense continued to click early in the second stanza as it put together a 5-1 run during the first eight minutes to go up 12-5. Junior Isabella DiDio (Jenkintown, Pa.) sandwiched a blast by Schott as Levy and Young both found the back of the net. Castelline completed the hat-trick 34 seconds after the draw as the Fighting Scots went on to chip away at the deficit, narrowing the gap to 13-8 with 11:13 remaining. On a clearing attempt by the Engineers, junior Bailey Grinnell (South Hamilton, Mass.) checked the ball out of freshman goalie Eva Boal's (Princeton Junction, N.J.) stick, collected the groundball and then with Boal out of position she recorded an empty net goal. Castelline capped the rally by setting up Illian to keep her squad within striking distance.
 
A Young free-position shot with 8:33 briefly stopped the visitors' momentum but Grinnell countered with 6:19 left to play. MIT maintained the majority of the possession down the stretch as Levy found Young for the final tally just as time expired.
 
Levy posted three goals and an assist while DiDio totaled two goals, eight groundballs, and six draw controls. Freshman Katie Notarangelo (Foxboro, Mass.) compiled one goal, two assists, four groundballs, and four draw controls as Schott finished with three goals, one assist, four groundballs, and two caused turnovers. Junior Kristyn Berretta (San Diego, Calif.) collected five groundballs while classmates Christine Jiang (Canton, Mich.) and Rachel Weinberg (Manassas, Va.) both registered two caused turnovers. In the win for the Engineers, Boal turned away six shots.
 
Grinnell notched three goals, three groundballs, and two caused turnovers and Illian chipped in two goals. Sophomores Lindsey Congdon (Exeter, N.H.) and MC Aston (Greenwich, N.Y.) both produced three groundballs while classmate Kristin Fitzgerald (Groveland, Mass.) added two caused turnovers. Senior Megan Avery (Rochester, N.H.) paced the Fighting Scots with two draw controls as sophomore goalie Jackie Kiernan (Lexington, Mass.) amassed 16 saves between the pipes.
 
Both squads resume conference play in their next outings. MIT will travel to NEWMAC foe Mount Holyoke College on Saturday, April 11 while Gordon will host Commonwealth Coast Conference rival Endicott College on Tuesday, April 14.


Release courtesy of MIT Sports Info