By Nick Pantages
@nick_pantages22
Men’s Cross Country: The Pride finished 25th out of 26 teams at the Connecticut College Invitational. Graduate student Adam Mula was the top runner for Springfield, and the only one to break 27 minutes on the 8k course, finishing in 26:47.20 and 135th overall in the field. The team resumes action in the NEWMAC championships on Oct. 28.
Women’s Cross Country: Maddie Shea and Kate Bonanno once again finished as the top two for the Pride as they guided the team to a 17th place finish at the Connecticut College Invitational. Running a 6k course, Shea was the top finisher at 23:13.9 and 81st overall, while Bonanno was 10 spots behind, running a 23:29.80. They next compete in the NEWMAC championships as well.
Field Hockey: In a tough slate of games, the Pride lost to nationally ranked Amherst and Babson, and defeated Wheaton. The offense struggled against the vaunted defenses of Amherst and Babson, and the Pride lost 4-0 and 5-1, respectively. Wheaton was a different story, scoring three unanswered to collect a 3-1 victory. Kaitlin Bardellini scored against Wheaton, and Hailey Gaydos got two goals against the Lyons and one against Babson. The Pride travel to Smith next.
Golf: Jack Diefenderfer and Nick DeMaio led Springfield to an 11th place finish at the NEIGA championships. Diefenderfer shot under 80 in both his rounds to finish tied for 19th with 154 strokes. DeMaio ended two strokes behind him at 156 shots. This wrapped up the Pride’s fall season, and they will resume in the Spring to prepare for the NCAA Championships.
Men’s Soccer: Chris Cruz scored the only goal as Tommy Crabill’s squad lost their game to WPI 3-1. The Engineers scored three times before Connor Policarpio assisted Cruz in the 87th minute. A pair of conference games are on the slate, against Babson and Wheaton.
Women’s Soccer: The Pride split their results Mount Holyoke and Emerson. Mount Holyoke scored just five minutes in, but Sadie Crozier equalized shortly after. Maddie Daigneault was able to score the winner, and Kaitlyn Suller added an insurance goal for a 3-1 win. The Pride were unable to muster an attempt on the Emerson net, and fell 2-0. Springfield has two NEWMAC games next week against WPI and Wellesley.
Women’s Volleyball: A trio of wins extended Moira Long’s squad’s win streak to 16, and also earned them their first appearance in the AVCA Coaches Poll, at 25th in Division III. Ally Townsend picked up the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Week award. The Pride dismantled Amherst in straight sets, and beat Mount Holyoke and Wellesley in four. Springfield now sits on top of the conference with a perfect 8-0 record. They have a quartet of games, competing in the New England Challenge against Middlebury, Tufts and Williams, and WPI in NEWMAC play.
Photo courtesy of Springfield Athletics.