By Emma Bynes
@emma_bynes4
In one of the first true fall games on Alden Street this semester, Springfield College field hockey faced off against third ranked Babson Tuesday evening. With possibly the rowdiest crowd ever seen at a Springfield College field hockey event, the team certainly had a tall task. The Pride have suffered 16 straight losses against the Beavers dating back to 2012 and haven’t gained a lead against them since 2014. The Beavers also had not allowed a single goal in over 300 consecutive minutes.
The biggest factor for the Pride tonight was time of possession. The home team started off with the ball and maintained possession, keeping the ball out of their own half. Freshmen Clare Moore and Rachel Simkewicz provided the energy early for the Pride, and their hustle proved infectious. Hailey Gaydos drove the ball into the circle for Springfield, left it to Amber Wolkner and Wolkner passed it to Sarah Healy. Healy rifled the ball past Beaver goalkeeper Madison Tibbals to put the Pride up 1-0 early. Springfield had the energy and infectious play early on.
“I’ve been waiting for it all season. The hype from my teammates is everything,” said Healy. “We went into this game very excited and ready to play our game.”
Springfield’s defense held strong throughout the night, but especially in the first half. Babson’s Laney Reed sprinted past multiple defenders but a pack of Pride teammates stopped her before she got a shot off. The Beavers earned their tenth penalty corner of the half compared to Springfield’s one — faking right, then reversing the ball left for potential All-American and sophomore Penny Baroni to score. Springfield’s lead had vanished, but the energy was still palpable on Stagg Field.
Shortly after this play Springfield’s first-year and leading goal-scorer, Rachel Simkewicz, earned her first card of the night. Despite playing a man down, Springfield held strong to secure their first halftime tie or lead against Babson since 2014.
After halftime another freshman for the Pride showed off. Goalie Sam Orcutt made five saves in the third quarter to hold off Babson’s dominant attack and secured the momentum for Springfield as long as possible. Orcutt’s effort wasn’t a solo one — senior Nicolette Morlock swiped the ball from Baroni multiple times to save a potential goal or corner. The Pride were being outshot 15-2 by the end of the third so this stalemate was no small feat.
Babson continued to earn back to back corners and the cracks started to show in this worn down defense. Simkewicz earned a yellow card for stick hacking to start the fourth, so Springfield had to once again play at a disadvantage against one of the strongest teams in the country. With the Beavers earning penalty corners at such a rapid frequency, it wasn’t surprising that Springfield’s defense grew tired. Orcutt made a save against Caroline DiGiovanni with 12 minutes to play, but just a minute later the reigning NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week scored the go-ahead goal and the 50th of her career. With Simkewicz still out and the crowd silenced, Springfield was unable to move the ball far enough up the field to mount a comeback.
“Something I love about this team in general is that we just perform. We talked about it in the huddle,” Springfield head coach Mia Olsen said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. It doesn’t matter where we’re playing. We just show up to the game and do our brand of hockey. Scoring first on the #3 team in the country was electric.”
Babson won its 63rd straight game in the month of October as well as advancing to 86-2 when holding their opponents to one goal or less since 2021. Springfield could not secure their fifth straight win and dropped to 4-1 in its last five games. The Pride travel to Wheaton College over the weekend before an away matchup against Dean — then returning home on Nov. 1 for their senior day.
Photo by Emma Bynes/The Student