WORCESTER -- Olivia Toolin (Bedford, NH) knocked home a feed from Jess English (Ledyard, CT) in the 62nd minute as the WPI women's soccer team was able to rally from second half deficit to salvage a 1-1 tie against visiting UMass Dartmouth on H. Carr Field inside Alumni Stadium on Wednesday evening.
 
The draw was the first of the season for the Engineers, who are now 3-2-1.  UMass Dartmouth is 2-3-2 and boasts a modest two-game unbeaten streak.
 
WPI came racing out of the gates, registering the first seven shots and first three corners of the game but it was the guests who dented the scoring column first in the 26th minute.  Adriana Adames (Farmingdale, NY) took a free kick from about 40 yards out on the left side and her ball deflected off a WPI defender and landed on the foot of Caroline McAuliffe (Pembroke, MA).  The senior nailed a high-arcing shot from just outside the box over the goalies' head and just under the cross bar for her second goal of the season.

The hosts, who outshot the Corsairs 13-1 in the opening 45 minutes, turned up the pressure even more in the second half and were rewarded when English hit a long ball from the center of the field to inside the box, where Olivia Toolin (Bedford, NH) controlled the ball, dribbled through defenders, and buried the ball into goal for her second of the season and ninth of her career at 61:39.
 
In the final minutes, WPI saw multiple chances to break the stalemate, registering four shots and two corners, but could not connect for a goal. UMass Dartmouth earned a corner kick with two minutes remaining, but the hosts stymied the attempt before the Corsairs could muster a shot.
 
The Engineers outshot the guests, 30-2, and had the majority of the penalty corners, 10-2.
 
WPI saw three different netminders in a match for the first time under the tutelage of 12th year head coach Steph Riley-Schafer. Lili Hellerman (Ashland, MA) started off for the first 35 minutes, Maya Mussel (Oxford, CT) guarded the net for the next 30 minutes, and Ayla Verheul (Naarden, The Netherlands) completed the game for the final 25 minutes for the Engineers and was credited with her first collegiate save.  UMass Dartmouth's Tori Russo (Milford, MA) played all 90 minutes, and repelled 14 shots.
 
WPI opens up NEWMAC conference play at Wellesley on Saturday at 2pm. UMass Dartmouth has a week hiatus, hosting Framingham State next Wednesday at 7pm.
 
Release Written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25