Worcester, MA --- Megan Forti (Lynn, MA)
tallied the only goal of the game with 5:25 left in the contest to
propel WPI to a dramatic 1-0 victory over Wellesley Saturday
evening and in the process secure a spot in the upcoming six-team
NEWMAC Tournament.
With the win the Engineers now have a season-best three-game
winning streak and move to 6-9-1 on the season and 4-4 in
conference play. With just one league match to play, WPI has
12 points - three ahead of Clark - and holds the head-to-head
tiebreaker with the Cougars. Wellesley, who had already
clinched a berth in the NEWMAC Tournament, slips to 7-7-2 overall
and 4-2-2 in NEWMAC action.
With the two teams looking destined for overtime, senior
Kristen Garza (Kingston, MA) sent Forti through
with a long pass. The freshman used her speed to just edge
past a defender and tucked the ball past the charging goalie for
her team-best 11th marker of the season.
Wellesley had two of the three best scoring chances prior to the
goal. Amanda Young (Palos Verdes Estates,
CA) flicked a nice shot on net that was deflected over the crossbar
by WPI netminder Maddie Willer (Penfield, NY) in
the 20th minute. Just prior to half time Emily
Wilson (Portland, OR) had a laser repelled by
Willer. Forti nearly broke the scoreless draw 10 minutes
prior to her heroics but had bid turned away Sarah
Gray (Montclair, VT).
Willer made six saves while registering her second straight
shutout and third of the season. Gray was credited with three
stops for the Blue.
The match saw each team attempt eight shots while Wellesley had
a 4-1 edge in corner kicks.
WPI ventures out of conference for the final time on Wednesday
with a 6:30pm road match at Becker. Wellesley is off until
Saturday when it hosts Clark at 1pm in the regular season
finale.