NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - The Smith College lacrosse team was unable to overcome a dominant first half by MIT as the Pioneers dropped a 15-8 decision to the Engineers Saturday afternoon in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action.  Despite the loss, Smith (9-8, 3-5) earned the No. 6 seed in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament. Prior to the game, the Pioneers honored its six seniors: Moira Anderson (Rumford, R.I./Providence Country Day School), Emily Biggs (Florence, Mass./Northampton), Katie Christensen (East Lyme, Conn./East Lyme), Gigi Connelly (Newton, Mass./Newton North), Clelie Fielding (Francestown, N.H./High Mowing), and Chloe Harris (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac).

SMITH HIGHLIGHTS

• Emily Biggs (Florence, Mass./Northampton) contributed an all around effort of three goals, six draw controls, six ground balls, while forcing five turnovers.
• Chloe Harris (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) recorded one goal and is now just one point away from 200 in her career.
• Alyssa Schams (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon) made eight saves in the loss.

MIT HIGHLIGHTS

• Eva Then led the Engineer offense with five goals and five draw controls. 
• Cecilia McCormick also finished with five goal and added an assist.
• Rayna Higuchi recorded two goals, two assists, six ground balls, and three caused turnovers.
• In net, Hannah Adams made 12 stops.

HOW IT HAPPENED
MIT stormed out to a 3-0 advantage as Naomi Lutz opened the scoring just 32 seconds into contest before Cecilia McCormick added a strike of her own off an assist from Ana Flooks. Just under two minutes later, Rayna Higuchi scored unassisted.Smith would respond at the 23:09 mark on Biggs' first of the afternoon, before the Engineers went on a 3-0 run for the 6-1 advantage. It was Biggs again who stopped the streak on an unassisted tally with 13:19 on the clock. Three more goals from the visitors Biggs' third of the night rounded out the scoring in the first half as MIT went into halftime leading 9-3.

After back-to-back goals form McCormick to open the second period, Smith strung together three unanswered goal to come within five (11-6). The Engineers would outscore the Pioneers 4-2 in the final 18:47 to secure the victory.

MIT held advantages in shots (34-26) and ground balls (24-16), while Smith had the 16-9 edge in draw controls.


UP NEXT
Smith will travel to Springfield in a NEWMAC Tournament Quarterfinal game Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. 

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is an NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.