By Sean Savage
@SeanSav13
Behind first-half magic and mastery from Meredith Healy, the Springfield College women’s soccer team eased its way to a 4-0 NEWMAC win over Mount Holyoke College on a frigid Wednesday night.
“She’s so dynamic, she’s one of the better players in the league,” assistant coach Brendon Boates said of Healy. “We knew once she scored once, they would come in flurries, and that is exactly what happened today.”
It was the “Think Pink” game for the Pride, highlighted by players wearing pink bow ties. The goal was to raise awareness for breast cancer at Brock-Affleck Field, which had a biting chill sweeping across the pitch. This caused many to bundle up with long compressions, gloves and parkas for those on the bench.
The Pride were unable to open the floodgates through the first 15 minutes of play. The squad had three consecutive corners and resorted to numerous tactics to break the Lyons’ backline, but nothing came to fruition.
That was until Healy decided to make a statement. She played up front but fell into the Pride’s midfield line with one mission: win the ball and break the deadlock.
In a blink of an eye, she did just that. With the ball at her right foot, Healy dropped her head and took off flying into the Lyon’s defensive third. Once there, she played the ball to Jen Walker, who was arching her run to stay onside.
With the ball out wide, Walker curled it with her instep onto the head of Molly Baxter. She met the cross in the air and thumped the header to the left of Lyon’s goalkeeper Clarissa Govea’s arm, with the ball meeting the back of the net 19 minutes into the game.
“I really enjoyed some of our build-up and combinations that we didn’t even score on,” Boates said ahead of their road game against Emerson on Saturday, Oct. 19, at 1:00 p.m.
Three minutes later, Healy reached into her bag and pulled out another trick – she wanted to ensure the Pride’s early lead wouldn’t be squandered.
Leading up to her goal, graduates Gabby Scott and Maddie Daigneault shut down one of the Lyons’s only attacks in the first half. Scott sent Mt. Holyoke’s Grace Baines to the ground with a hard tackle, and Daigneault swept in to advance the ball before reaching Healy.
“We have a very experienced and tough-talented backline,” Boates said. “Even when we do have a breakdown, they usually do a pretty good job at recovering and making it difficult for the other team.”
Healy dashed down the right flank in the quench of her first goal, leaving the Lyons in the dust. Notably, she separated from Sonia McCollum, who desperately tried to string together last-stitch defending.
A rush of adrenaline surged through Healy as she found herself one-on-one with Govea, and she used that jolt to slot the ball into the back of the net – extending the Pride’s lead to two unanswered.
Olivia Raucci tacked on her fourth goal of the season in the 30th minute. The goal was a routine finish from a few yards, inside the middle of the box. Leading up to her finish with the right was lovely interplay from Scott and Rosie Turbett, who secured the assist.
Through all the Pride’s prowess – and by the time the buzzer sounded, singling the end of the first half – Mount Holyoke had zero shots.
“We’re never comfortable, but it makes you feel a little more relaxed where you’re not stressing out about getting that goal to go ahead,” Boates said regarding the utterly-dominant lead at the half. “We could play with a little more freedom and flexibility position-wise.”
The story of the second half was much the same: The Pride generated a torrent of shots – totaling 13 of their 26 shots in the second – and Healy showed no signs of slowing.
Sirens went off inside the Lyons head at the sight of Healy with the ball at her foot 62 minutes into the game, inching closer and closer to Govea’s home.
Visibly flustered and unsure of what to do, the Lyons sent Healy hurling to the ground with a harsh tackle, leading to a penalty.
Walker placed the ball on the spot and took five steps back and three to the left before taking a deep breath. She stood momentarily while envisioning what would unfold and then calmly placed the ball in the bottom left corner.
The goal put the icing on the cake and boosted the Pride to 6-2-4 on the season, while extending its all-time record against Mount Holyoke to 24-3. The Lyon’s ended the game with a mere two shots.
“[I’m] happy to get four obviously, but I feel like they probably should’ve scored 10,” Boates said. “We’ll take four; it’s good enough.”
Photo: Springfield College Athletics