Box Score Cambridge, Mass. – MIT scored a pair of goals in each half and the host Engineers rolled to a convincing 4-0 win over Clark University in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) women's soccer matchup at Steinbrenner Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Jennifer Ibanez (West Windsor, N.J.) paced the Cardinal and Gray with two goals, while freshman Allie Hrabchak (Princeton, N.J.) notched a marker of her own to go along with an assist. Sophomore Jacqueline Simmons (Houston, Texas) contributed to the offensive attack with a single strike while classmate Olivia Struckman (Scottsdale, Ariz.) added an assist in the win.
MIT got on the board quickly, when Hrabchak potted her team leading sixth goal of the season on a thru pass from Struckman, just 3:08 into the contest. Struckman sent the ball on the ground from the 40 yard line to Hrabchak, who was positioned at the top of the box. Hrabchak dribbled and fired a shot into the top of the net giving MIT the 1-0 advantage.
The Cardinal and Gray added its second marker of the afternoon on a free kick opportunity. Clark committed a foul in the 17th minute near the 20 yard line, which led to an MIT free kick. Simmons stood in front of a four man Cougars wall and drilled the ball just under the cross bar doubling the hosts' lead to 2-0.
Clark had a few good scoring opportunities in the first stanza but couldn't capitalize. Sophomore Grace McElroy-Howard (Watertown, Mass.) fed the ball to junior Kara Fischer (Belmont, Mass.) from midfield at 17:50. The chance came up just short as MIT junior goalkeeper Lauren Ullmann (Princeton, N.J.) met Fischer and the ball at the top of the box, keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard.
In the 28th minute, senior Nikki Feinberg (San Antonio, Texas) was awarded with a free kick of her own, but the ball sailed just to the right of the net, leaving the score at 2-0 in favor of the hosts, heading into the break.
Ibanez accounted for MIT's offense in the second stanza. At the 55:35 mark, she was taken down in the box, giving her a penalty kick opportunity. The senior forward planted the ball above the reach of Clark senior netminder Gabby Paolini (North Potomac, Md.), extending the Engineers lead to 3-0.
Just 3:53 later, Hrabchak sent a cross from the top of the box to Ibanez, who was waiting on the left flank. Ibanez made the score 4-0 when she took possession of the ball, juked the Clark back line and registered her second goal of the game, her fourth of the season, into the top left corner of the net.
Ullmann made four saves for MIT over the first 59:28 of the game, while junior Hannah Zlotnick (Rochester, N.Y.) stopped the ball three times in 20:32 of relief. Freshman Lily Mueller (Lakeville, Minn.) played the final ten minutes of the game, in her first career collegiate action. Paolini made eight saves in a complete game effort for Clark – including the 400th of her career.
The Cardinal and Gray outshot the Cougars by a 25-12 margin and held a slim 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.
MIT (7-4-2, 4-1-0 NEWMAC) travels to Williams College for a non-conference tilt tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m., while Clark (2-8-2, 0-3-0 NEWMAC) heads to NEWMAC foe Springfield College on Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m.
