WORCESTER, Mass. – No. 4 seed WPI won a thrilling 0-0 game in a penalty shootout, 3-1, over No. 5 seed Wellesley College soccer in the NEWMAC Women's Soccer Championship Quarterfinals on Tuesday evening at H. Carr Field.
WPI will now travel to No. 1 MIT on Thursday, November 5 in the semifinals.
After both teams missed their first penalty kick, WPI junior Madisen McLeod (Ledyard, Conn.) scored for the hosts. Wellesley missed its second attempt before the Engineers pushed it to 2-0 when first-year Sarah Frye (Nashua, N.H.) found the netting. The visitors missed its third effort, as did WPI. Blue first-year Maya Fraser (Leverett, Mass.) cut it to 2-1 with a successful attempt. The Engineers fifth and final shot came from sophomore Tiziri Tizi-Ougdal (Acton, Mass.) when the score crossed the goal line successfully, the Engineers stormed the field with the victory finally in hand.
Despite 28 total shots from WPI (10-6-3) and 17 from the Blue (7-6-6), neither team was able to connect on any shots during either regulation or either overtime period. The stars were the defenders. Wellesley sophomore Olivia Lore (Blue Bell, Pa.) made a career-best 12 saves while WPI junior Ayla Verheul (Naarden, The Netherlands) defended all seven on net attempts. Lore ends the season fourth in Blue single-season history with 138 saves this year.
