Box Score DUDLEY, Mass. (Nov. 11) – The Massachusetts Institute of Technology field hockey team held on to a 2-0 first-half lead to defeat Nichols College, 2-1, on Vendetti Field in the 2009 NCAA Division III Field Hockey Championship First Round Wednesday afternoon. The Engineers improve to 18-4 and advance to face Tufts University Saturday in the Second Round in Medford, Mass. Nichols ends its historic season with an 18-4 record. The game marked the first NCAA Championship Tournament appearance for both teams.
The Engineers wasted little time getting on the board as freshman attacker Kimberly Barker tipped in a shot by sophomore attacker Kameron Klauber less than five minutes into the game.
MIT carried a two-goal lead into the break after freshman midfielder Molly McShane slipped the ball to senior midfielder Ekavali Mishra at the near post after a scrum in front drew out Nichols keeper Krista-Jean Forand (Plymouth, Mass.). Mishra knocked the ball into the open net in the 29th minute for the two-goal advantage.
Eight minutes into the second half, the Bison cut the Engineers' lead in half, courtesy of a rebound by first year attacker Barbara Roy (Springfield, Mass.).
Nichols looked to knot the game on several corner opportunities, including a pair with about 10 minutes left. In the first, MIT goalkeeper Keri Dixon stopped a trio of shots before Nichols was awarded a second corner. On the ensuing set, Emily Widdison's (Greenfield, Mass.) shot was tipped high over the cage.
The Bison were awarded a corner just as time expired, but the MIT defense thwarted Nichols' final stand.
Dixon earned the win with 10 saves, while Forand shouldered the loss with 10 stops. MIT held a slim advantage in penalty corners at 14-13, and outshot the hosts, 22-12 overall.
Nichols ends its historic season with records set for wins in a season (18), winning percentage (.818), and consecutive wins (13) after making the program's first appearance in the NCAA Championship Tournament.
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