The MIT Women's Soccer Team (4-3) fell on the road to Bridgewater State College (4-2) in a tough 1-0 loss Thursday.
Bridgewater defended their home turf vigorously, coming out strong and controlling most of the first half play. MIT was able to weather the storm and turned the tide slightly in the second half. However, a late goal by
Bridgewater was enough to secure the victory.
MIT's three loses on the year have all come on the road by 1-0 scores.
Senior captain goalkeeper Kat Vater made seven saves in the loss and held Bridgewater until the team scored on a free kick with only six minutes remaining.
The defensive backline of senior captain Mary Harding, senior Chi-Fong Wang, junior Karen Davie and sophomore Jodie Wu was under siege most of the game and held strong until the late free kick. Jodie cleared a scoring chance off the line late in the game to keep the game deadlocked and Karen played a great game dealing with the brunt of Bridgewater's attack, which predominantly came up the right flank at her left back position.
Strikers junior Amy Ludlum and freshman Liz Theurer had several opportunities to score, including a cross from Amy that Liz headed wide of the net and another long through ball from Amy that Liz ran onto, cut back across the net and fired just over the crossbar.
The midfield of seniors Ashleigh Leonard and Andrea Staid, junior Janine Hopmans and freshman Katie Pesce faced a tough battle all day against some very physical Bridgewater players. They all expended a lot of energy defending and tracking back to defend the counter attack. Dre and Janine almost connected on a great free kick opportunity in the second half, but Janine's redirection was wide of the net.
Sophomores Andrea Bradshaw and Kat Routhier and freshman Julia Roberts all came off the bench and contributed solid minutes in the tough fought game.
***Player of the Match***
In a game in which MIT was back on its heels for most of the contest senior captain Mary Harding keep the defensive backline in shape and fighting hard throughout with her vocal direction and well-timed steps forward to win the ball. Despite the high pressure the defense held Bridgewater for most of the game and gave MIT the opportunity to go ahead with just one strike. Mary also pushed forward late in the contest to add some extra offensive firepower.
MIT opens its NEWMAC conference schedule this Saturday at Mount Holyoke College with a 1:00 p.m. match.