Staff Writer
Underclassmen Kelly Gallo of the field hockey team and Zach Dutter of the men’s soccer team and have earned the Springfield Student Newspaper Players of the Week award for 10/6/11 through 10/12/11.
Athletes of the Week for 10/6/11–10/12/11
Kelly Gallo
Last week ended in a Maroon Club and NEWMAC Player of the Week honors for sophomore Kelly Gallo. Gallo pioneered the field hockey team’s first two wins of the season last week (6-3 over Smith, 1-0 at WPI). She scored three goals and recorded three assists during those two wins. The Lady Pride, now 2-2 in conference play, have conference rival Wheaton on Saturday at 11 a.m. The game on Tuesday will feature the Lady Pride against NEWMAC hosts Clark at 7 p.m. Clark has a record of 7-3-0 (1-2-0 NEWMAC). After the road game against Clark, the Pride return home for the final three games of the season (Trinity, Babson, and Mount Holyoke).
Q: Now that you have that first couple wins will the team use the same or similar strategies against your upcoming opponents?
A: Yes, we are using the same strategies in the upcoming games that we used to win our others.
Q: After two wins in conference play the past few games, is it good to get away from the out-of-conference opponents?
A: The out-of-division opponents are definitely hard teams to play. Most of them are ranked nationally, and other teams in the NEWMAC do not play the same teams we play.
Q: What is it like to have gotten a hat-trick in your collegiate field hockey career?
A. It is a great feeling to get a hat-trick, but I could not have done it without my teammates.
Q: With four out of the last six games being NEWMAC games, how much harder will it be to focus game-by-game as opposed to focus on making the post-season?
A: We just have to make sure we focus and play as a team during our NEWMAC games to ensure we make the postseason tournament.
Zach Dutter
Wednesday night, freshman Zach Dutter added to an already impressive week for the men’s soccer team. The first-year midfielder dished out an assist to Eric Stalsburgh on the Pride’s way to a 4-0 victory over Mitchell. Earlier in the week, Dutter scored a pair of goals in a 4-1 win over Clark.The Dallas, PA native netted the game’s opening and fourth goals. With the assist and two goals, that brings his season totals to four goals and one assist. He is tied with fellow freshman Kevin Nowak for the team’s leader in points. The team’s next match is against NEWMAC rival Babson, who last year won the regular season match and semifinal match in Babson Park. That will be a 1 p.m. start this Saturday. Springfield is back at home Wednesday Oct. 19 for a non-conference game vs. Brandeis. Game begins at 7 p.m.
Q: How does the team look going into the final stretch of the regular season?
A. Right at this moment I believe we just got our momentum rolling and finally started playing like we talked about. These next two games are going to challenge us and test us. I believe we’re confident and ready for both teams.
Q: You netted your third and fourth goals on Saturday’s game against Clark. Do you feel you have found your role?
A. I believe that at this moment I fit well in the system and rotation, next year I will be more experienced in it. We play different here so I’m still learning.
Q: Having lost on the road to Babson last season, how much more does the team want to defeat them at home?
A. The team’s rule is that we don’t lose at home. We want to fire back and beat them this year. One of our goals on our team goal sheet is to beat Babson.
Q: How was the team able to bounce back and defeat Clark after losing their first game?
A. After the loss we were more eager and determined to beat out Clark. Our goal is to win all of the conference games and clinch a good seed in NEWMACS.
Ricky Mazella may be reached at rmazella@springfieldcollege.edu