By Sam MacGilpin
@sam_macgilpin
The clock hit triple zero on the board as the Springfield College men’s lacrosse were staring down a 18-3 halftime deficit against Middlebury College. The game looked over, and Springfield was at risk of getting blown out. Instead, the Pride outscored the Panthers 12-5 in the second half, and with personnel changes, revived its season.
After the Middlebury loss , Springfield dropped to 0-8, but a second-half surge prompted the Pride to win six of their final seven games as they beat Wheaton 20-8 on senior and Grandparents Day.
The Pride got on the board first as Jake Degnan stopped on a dime, ultimately losing his defender, and ripped one far side. Degnan was named to the USILA Division III National Team of the Week after an eight-goal performance against Salve Regina.
After a Lyons goal, Bryan Stensrud schooled his defender on X, scored, and then scored again from a beautiful Brady Soldo pass. Gage Sperlonga put his shoulder down and snuck his shot stick side in the net quickly after.
The Pride were firing from left and right, but with five seconds left, short stick defenseman Nick Gorman blazed across the midfield, fell, and miraculously scored while recovering. Springfield was up 5-2 in the first.
Coach Keith Bugbee talked about how his offense has been superb lately.
“The game plan for a while has been just share the ball and get people involved, and the game plan we had for Wheaton was to keep the ball hot,” Bugbee said. “We’re getting a lot of different scorers. Look for easy goals. Use the whole shot clock, and don’t rush it.”
Three minutes into the second, Mason Nocito had a rip that stung the back of the net. The Pride’s sideline was ecstatic all second quarter due to a 6-0 run that included two Kevin Tierney snipes and another Nocito unassisted goal. Those were followed by creative play schemes ending in Degnan and Soldo scores.
Soldo found himself on the doorstep again with 10 seconds in the half, and the Pride entered the second half with a convincing 12-4 lead.
Nocito helped the Pridepick up where they left off in the first half and scored on an excellent play design from Tierney. Soldo got his second goal of the game on a man-up opportunity drawn by Vincent Scialdone, and the Pride were up 10 goals.
Bugbee emphasized the importance of Scialdone’s faceoff ability.
“He’s such a difference maker. We just got the ball a lot from him today,” Bugbee said. “He’s improved so much this year. Not only faceoff wise, but he can be reliable on offense too.”
Wheaton had a two-man advantage, but goalie Kaden Quirk and company held down and forced a turnover, clearing both penalties. Nocito capitalized on the turnover with another goal, and Tierney spun two defenders before striking one to make the lead 16-4 entering the fourth.
Aaron Murakami got a goal late in the fourth quarter from a Michael Kuziak pass, who notched his first collegiate assist and point as they sealed the victory.
“We talked about how we’re going to get good shots. We took great shots,” Bugbee said. “[Tierney] got his 100th point today. Nocito and him are playing great roles.”
Springfield clinched the second seed and will host the NEWMAC semifinal game against MIT on Thursday on Stagg field; Springfield beat MIT earlier in season 13-10 and looks to take revenge for a loss last season against the Engineers in the semifinal.
“It’s going be hard to beat them twice. [MIT] is really good,” Bugbee said. “But, if we keep playing like we have, we will beat them.”
Photo Courtesy of Springfield College Athletics