Emma Bynes
@emma_bynes4
After Molly Collins’ goal in the first half of Wednesday evening’s field hockey game against Trinity College, it felt like the Springfield Pride were finally going to snap their 15-game losing streak against the Bantams.
Leading off the game, the Pride clearly came out aggressive and dominated time of possession, trying to capitalize off of Trinity goalie Hayley Gable, who had let up 12 goals against their previous opponent, Middlebury.
Although there wasn’t much action in the first period, great defense from Natalie Gower and goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parent let spectators know they were in for a nail-biter.
Although neither team asserted dominance in the opening period, Springfield grabbed the momentum with 8:32 left in the first half. A penalty corner from Nicolette Morlock went to Audrey Dolan, who assisted the Molly Collins goal. Throughout the period there were many more opportunities for the Pride to score, including a near highlight-worthy goal that featured Anna Beck falling away from the goal that just missed wide right, but none of the tries were successful. Springfield went into halftime up 1-0, and the momentum was on their side.
To start the second half, Springfield’s defense remained stout. However, an Izzy Devaney penalty shot would tie the game less than two minutes into the second half. It was clear the Bantams attack became much more aggressive.
An isolation play from Trinity’s Aly Jensen went wide left, further showcasing Parent’s solid game in the net, and Trinity quickly began to look like the No. 25 ranked team nationally in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Division III preseason polls.
With two and a half minutes left in the third period, Springfield sophomore Hailey Gaydos made a great passing play, but it was unsuccessful, and the Pride were quickly forced back onto defense. To end the third, a similar quality passing play from Trinity standout Izzy Devaney led to a Bantam penalty corner that luckily went wide.
Going into the fourth knotted up at one, it seemed like neither team could truly steal the momentum. With 12 minutes remaining in the game, a Dolan pass led to yet another Springfield corner, but the attempt was unsuccessful – stopped again by the Trinity keeper. The Pride immediately earned another penalty corner, but made their first major whiff, luckily maintaining possession for a bit.
Shortly after, another Springfield error was not made up for, and the Bantam’s Nina Falkson took advantage with just under eight minutes remaining in the game. The Pride had their backs against the wall, needing to come back from a 2-1 deficit versus a team that just seemed to get stronger as the game went on.
Assistant Coach Maura Tumelty recognized that Springfield has some areas to clean up.
“I think they [Trinity] just were working super hard and they seemed to pick it up a little bit and we were starting to get tired.
The Pride had many opportunities to score throughout the remainder of the game, but could not convert.
The Bantams added an insurance goal, stifling the home crowd’s hope with a slow roller goal to double Trinity’s lead, sucking the air out of Stagg Field. The score remained 3-1 until the final whistle.
“[We need to] clean up the defense a little bit, clean up the offense, and just try to make smarter plays, not let silly mistakes happen,” Tumelty said. “And just kind of keep up the energy we had in the first half the entire game.”
The Pride look to win the last two games of their five-game homestand, as they begin conference play this weekend against Salve Regina.
Photo courtesy Springfield College Athletics