WORCESTER -- Abbey Powers (Halifax, MA) scored twice in the opening quarter and Chloe Luongo (Amherst, NH) added a key insurance tally in the fourth as second-seeded WPI field hockey advanced to the
NEWMAC Championship game with a 3-1 triumph over third-seeded MIT in a NEWMAC semifinal matchup at H. Carr Field at Alumni Stadium on Thursday afternoon.

With the win, WPI, recently ranked No. 24 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Division III National Coaches Poll, improved to 14-4 on the season and earn a spot in the NEWMAC title game for the first time in program history. MIT sees its season come to a close at 12-8 overall after a 7-2 regular season conference campaign.

WPI has four conference championships in program history during a five-year period spanning from 1988-1992 in the NEW 8. This year's appearance in the conference title match will be the first for WPI since the NEWMAC established in 1998 as the Engineers will square off with Babson, the four-time defending NEWMAC champions, who defeated fourth-seeded Springfield this evening 2-0 to book its sixth-straight appearance to the title contest.

The Crimson and Gray wasted no time jumping ahead as Powers converted a pass from Arie Lang (West Hartford, CT) just 34 seconds into the contest for her eighth goal of the season. Lang swept a ball through the Cambridge Engineers' defense that trickled in for the opening goal of the tilt. MIT leveled the score midway through the first period on a long pass into the circle by Marisa Montione (Charlotte, NC) that was tipped by Jane Tortorella (Old Greenwich, CT) and redirected to Shealy Callahan (Oak Park, IL) who knocked it to the back of the cage at 8:52. Powers regained the lead moments later for WPI, burying her own rebound after an initial stop, as her second-chance shot eluded both MIT netminder Maeve Zimmer (Rockville, MD) and a last-ditch defensive save attempt by Audrey Oh (Longmeadow, MA) at 13:10.

Defense was the story from there as WPI goalkeeper Myles Lakin (Reading, MA) and the back line stood firm against a relentless MIT attack. Sophomore Madeline Chase (Concord, NH) came through with a defensive save in the second quarter to preserve the advantage, both squads limited each other to just a solo attempt in the third stanza. 

WPI knocked in the final tally in the fourth as the hosts worked the ball around to Eve Martineau (Greene, ME) off a penalty corner set who then fed Luongo as she dribbled in between two defenders and scored in the near side corner to extend the lead to 3-1 with 8:19 remaining. The visiting Engineers attempted to respond earning five penalty corners in the final 2:15 of the match and rattled off four strikes as Lakin saved a pair and the WPI defense blocked the other looks.

For the contest, MIT held an 11-7 edge in total shots as WPI enjoyed a 5-4 edge in shots on target as Cambridge's Engineers compiled a 12-3 advantage in penalty corners. Lakin finished with two saves, while MIT's Zimmer made a pair of stops of her own.

WPI will travel to top-seeded Babson, and third in the NFHCA Division III National Coaches Poll, on Saturday with the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line in a match scheduled for a 12pm start.