By Sean Savage
@SeanSav13
After beating the No. 21 ranked team in the country, the Springfield College women’s soccer team continue to show no signs of slowing down.
An exuberant first-year, Peyton Knott, quickly stared down Nicole Nunes before tucking away the Springfield College women’s soccer team’s sixth goal in the left side netting with just under four minutes remaining.
Knott’s poised finish – via an Emilee Surber corner on the right side – capped the Pride’s 6-1 emphatic win over Rhode Island College on Saturday at Brock-Affleck Field.
“We were getting production from everyone, which was awesome,” assistant coach Brendon Boates said, as the Pride advanced to 3-0-1 on the season.
First-year Mia Salmon opened the floodgates for the Pride five minutes into the game.
Meredith Healy had the ball on the right side of the Pride’s defensive half. She picked up her head and spotted Jen Walker, who was making a run down the flank – cruising past the Anchorwomen’s bench.
Healy played a dazzling pass that split the midfield, allowing Walker to receive the ball and take three touches with her right foot. She then provided Salmon with a low-driven cross near the penalty mark.
Chloe Angelone was out of position because Walker was near the sideline when she passed the ball, allowing Salmon to slot the ball away at the far post easily.
“It feels amazing to start and then prove myself on the field,” Salmon said. “It was also a team effort to get the first goal, I was just there at the right spot.”
Walker, Molly Baxter and Olivia Raucci all found the back of the net ahead of halftime. Just as noteworthy, Kaitlyn Suller added two more assists to her résumé. Her first assist – 13 minutes into the game – astonished the crowd.
Salmon had space and time afforded down the left flank, which helped her find Suller, who was just inside the top of the box – also on the left side.
As the ball inched toward Suller, she scanned the field. The moment told her exactly what was going to unfold.
Once at her foot, she played an otherworldly one-time trivela pass – swerving between the Anchorwomen’s backline and Angelone – to Walker, who effortlessly put away the finish at the far post.
The Pride’s offensive prowess in the first 45 minutes allowed Boates to eschew his typical starting 11 for the remainder of the game.
“We have depth everywhere, not just certain positions,” Boates said. “It’s a huge difference for us compared to what we had last year. Now we can legitimately go 25 to 26 players deep and not have a huge dropoff.”
The Pride ripped with energy as Suller passed the ball to Summer Chong, signaling the start of the second half.
Through 15 shots in the second, junior Kayla McGrath – along with Knott – added to the Pride’s scoreline: each of the six goals was delivered from a different player.
Moreover, on the defensive end, Springfield once again proved themselves to be a tough task to deal with. Graduates Maddie Daigneault, Gabby Scott and Madison Daly – along with senior captain Kate Minoudis – comprise the Pride’s luminary backline.
“They [upperclassmen] give us great criticism because they’ve been on the team longer than us,” Salmon said. “They’ve been great role models, too, they always play with 100 percent.”
So far, only Western New England has been able to score more than one goal on the Pride, and the Anchorwomen were no exception. RPI, who are 2-1 while scoring eight goals, will look to shake that statistic in their home arena on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
The Anchorwomen’s lone goal was a penalty awarded in the 59th minute due to a handball. Despite Marissa Ruzzano hastily sending it into the right side net past Micaela Tracey’s outstretched arms, the goal was only a matter of consolation.
“Two of our next six games are against top five teams in the country,” Boates said. “There’s no resting and sitting back thinking you have an easy day.”
Photo: Springfield College Athletics