Cambridge, MA --- MIT senior Morgan Moroi (New Albany, OH) notched the game winning goal just 34-seconds into the second overtime period that lifted the Cardinal and Gray to a 2-1 victory over WPI in both team's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opening contest on Saturday afternoon at Steinbrenner Stadium. 

After a scoreless first overtime session, MIT came out firing to begin the second period. Just 34-seconds into the stanza, senior Jennifer Ibanez (West Windsor, NJ.) gathered the ball off of a WPI turnover and headed up field. Ibanez drove past the visitors back line and sent a cross from the 20 yard line, where Moroi was waiting at the top of the box. Moroi turned and fired the ball into the left side of the net, lifting MIT to the 2-1 double overtime victory. 

Both teams had chances to score in the first half, but the game remained knotted at 0-0 after 45 minutes had expired on the clock. WPI outshot MIT 9-3 over the stretch, which included a free kick via Karina Larson (Storrs, CT) from the top of the box. Larson lined up in front of MIT's six man wall and booted the ball off of the crossbar and into the hands of Cardinal and Gray goalkeeperLauren Ullmann (Princeton, N.J.), leaving the game scoreless. 

Freshman Allie Hrabchak (Princeton, NJ) put the MIT on the board first in the 55th minute. Hrabchak was positioned at the top of the six yard line awaiting the pass from sophomore Olivia Struckman (Scottsdale, AZ), who found an opening sending a cross into the Hrabchak's possesion. Hrabchak turned, gathered and fired a shot into the lower right corner of the net giving the home standing Engineers the 1-0 lead. 

Larson sent a corner kick into the ten yard box, but Ullmann punched the ball out keeping WPI scoreless with less than 25 minutes to play. Ullmann came up huge in net for MIT once again at the 67:29 mark. WPI sophomore Megan Hanshaw (Simsbury, CT) sent a through pass to senior Emily Doherty (Shrewsbury, MA) who fed the ball to junior Erin Bracken (Bridgewater, MA) who was wide open. Bracken's first shot ricocheted off the crossbar, but she regathered the ball and fired a second time, but the ball Ullmann was there to make thestop. 

WPI evened the score in the 82nd minute on a penalty kick by Doherty, notching her conference leading tenth goal of the season. The pace wouldn't slow down as both teams had chances with less than two minutes left to play in regulation time. MIT freshman Selin Selman (New Rochelle, NY) booted a corner kick into the box that found the head of sophomore Jacqueline Simmons(Houston, TX), but WPI net minder Abbey Teliska (LaGrangeville, NY) stood strong between the posts keeping the score even at 1-1 heading to extra time. 

The opening overtime session went scoreless, but at the 100:34 mark, the game was no longer tied at one. Ibanez sent the cross up to the top of the box and Moroi blasted the ball into the net, lifting MIT to its first NEWMAC win of the season. 

"Our efforts today were outstanding, stated WPI head coach Steph Schafer. "We fought hard to win and maintain possession. Defensively, we kept our composure and dealt well with their attacking personalities. On the offensive side of the ball we created many opportunities, hitting the post and the crossbar multiple times. The result was heartbreaking but we need to stay focused on taking the good from today and carrying it into next week." 

Ullmann and Teliska both tallied seven saves for their respective teams. WPI outshot MIT 22-15, but MIT held a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. 

MIT (3-2-1, 1-0 NEWMAC) stays at home for a non-conference matchup with Salem State University on Tuesday, September 22 at 4pm, while WPI (5-2, 0-1 NEWMAC) heads back to Worcester for a non-conference tilt with Wentworth the same day with kickoff slated for 7pm.

Release Courtesy MIT Sports Information