WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College soccer was edged by No. 12 MIT 2-0 in a NEWMAC home opener on Saturday afternoon.

MIT (8-1-0, 2-0-0 NEWMAC) got on the board seven minutes and 12 seconds into the contest. A corner kick taken by senior Leena Mehendale (Dallas, Texas) allowed grad student Natalie Barnouw  (Los Angeles, Calif.) to redirect a header into the lower right side of the goal.

After nearly 68 minutes of scoreless action, the Engineers once again turned a corner kick into a goal for a 2-0 lead. Barnouw sent the ball towards the box this time and in a bunch of traffic, sophomore Ella Conopask (Fairfield, Conn.) deflected the ball past everyone into the goal. 

Senior Ava Muffoletto (Kings Park, N.Y.) got the start in goal for MIT and worked a clean first half with one save. Sophomore Maddy Noll (Northbrook, Ill.) played the final 45 minutes to combine for the clean sheet. 

Senior Riley McNair (Cupertino, Calif.) finished with seven saves for Wellesley (4-4-1, 1-1-0 NEWMAC). 

MIT held a 25-4 shot advantage and attempted 12 corner kicks, which were responsible for the scoring of both goals.

Wellesley remains home to welcome Smith College for Earn The W Day on Saturday, October 4 at 1:00 PM. MIT continues a road stretch at Tufts University on Wednesday, October 1 at 4:00 PM.