Zach Tolman
Staff Writer
The Springfield College women’s lacrosse team took care of business on Saturday afternoon, thrashing MIT 17-4 on Stagg Field.
The contest was the Pride’s second New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference matchup of the season, and their second NEWMAC victory that they have won by a large margin.
MIT’s freshman midfielder, Keeley Erhardt, put her team on the board first just under a minute into the game, beating Springfield goaltender Anne Versprille on a free position opportunity.
Firing right back, Connie Nielsen was able to net one of her four goals of the day for the Pride just minutes following Erhardt’s strike to tie the contest at one. Soon after, MIT’s midfielder Isabella DiDio was able to find twine up top, giving MIT an early 2-1 lead.
Emily Rogers was the second Springfield goal contributor, converting off of a pass from Michelle Dorsey ten minutes into the first half, tying the game at two goals apiece. It appeared as if Dorsey’s goal sparking a Springfield scoring threat that was just beginning to find it’s groove.
Kelly Gallo soon after snuck two goals by Beaver’s goalkeeper, Candice Kaplan, one of which was on a perfect feed from Colleen Keeley behind the net, providing the Pride with a go-ahead two-goal lead.
Springfield’s hustle transitions led to many quality shot opportunities, generating a total of 31 shots on net. Springfield’s energy carried over to the defensive side of the ball as well, causing many turnovers and overpowering MIT for ground balls.
Springfield’s Michelle Dorsey, Emily Rodgers, Connie Nielsen, and captains Emily Fowler and Kelly Gallo all earned hat tricks on the day, displaying that as an offensive unit they have many options in close. Springfield College senior goalkeeper Anne Versprille had another strong outing in net for the maroon and white, allowing only two goals in her forty-four minutes between the pipes before trotting off to applause and whistles from the home crowd.
“We focused a lot on moving the ball in our attack and being more versatile in our attack.” Springfield head coach Kristen Mullady explained. “Driving, dumps, feeds. Defensively we put in a little something different to stop the drives, so we did a great job on that, as well as communication throughout our defense, and just being really aggressive and winning those ground balls.”
Following the victory, Springfield now turns their attention to Babson College. The two teams will square off in a NEWMAC bout at MacDowell Field on Saturday, April 9. Coming off of a slow start to their season, the Beavers have surfaced at a 3-6 overall record while boasting a 2-0 conference record.