By Nick Pantages
@nick_pantages22
Men’s Cross Country: After a 20-day break from competition, the Pride did not miss a beat, finishing 10th in the 24-team field at the James Earley Invitational on Oct. 7. Once again, senior Chris Vayda led the way, finishing fifth overall with a blistering time of 25:44.62. Graduate student Adam Mula joined him in the top 50, finishing second for Springfield and 39th overall with a time of 27:03.31, while junior Joe Wong fell just short of the top 50 in the 54th position. Springfield resumes action again next weekend with a trip to New London, Conn., on Oct. 14 to run in the Connecticut College Invitational.
Women’s Cross Country: The trio of senior Kate Bonanno, junior Maddie Shea and junior Elina Olmedo led the Pride to an eighth-place finish at the 25-team James Earley Invitational. Bonanno paced the Pride with a time of 23:45.15, good for 22nd overall. Shea finished in 26th place, and was just seconds behind Bonanno at 23:53.57, while Olmedo finished in 30th with a time of 24:06.61. They will travel with the men’s squad to the Connecticut College Invitational on Oct. 14, in the last tune up before the NEWMAC Championships.
Field Hockey: The Pride got back in the win column this week, sweeping Wellesley and Albertus Magnus to improve to 5-7 on the season. Graduate student Kaitlin Bardellini scored the lone regulation goal against Wellesley. The game remained scoreless through a pair of overtime periods, and advanced to a penalty shootout. Both squads connected on three of the first four penalties, before first year Samara Skully made the decisive fifth penalty, and senior Remy Niland was able to save the ensuing shot to give the Pride the win. Springfield’s win over Albertus Magnus was a 8-1 blowout. The Pride scored the first eight goals of the game, before the Falcons got on the board with 54 seconds left. Bardellini scored twice and had three assists, first year Hailey Gaydos collected a hat trick and Emma McLaughlin, Sarah Healy and Camryn Morano added goals. The Pride have a tough week ahead, with nationally ranked Amherst and Babson coming to Springfield, before they travel to Wheaton.
Football: Springfield took home its third conference win of the season with a 38-10 victory over MIT. The Engineers remained in contention for most of the game until two fourth-quarter touchdowns put the game out of reach. Fullback Arsen Shtefan opened the scoring in the first quarter, and after an MIT field goal, and quarterback Jacob Silvester found the end zone to put the Pride up 14-3. A Tyler Paladino interception gave the Pride good field position before the half, and Christian Hutra connected on a 51-yard field goal to give Springfield a 14-point lead. Both squads traded touchdowns in the third quarter, before Joe Cannizzaro scored and Silvester scampered for a 54 yard touchdown – his second of the day. The Pride’s win moved them to 5-1 on the season, and they will be off next week, before a pair of home games to finish up the month.
Golf: The Springfield College golf team finished 20th overall in the Skidmore Fall Invitational. It was a one-day event, with Saturday getting rained out. David Girouard once again was the top performer for Springfield, shooting a 77, which tied him for 64th overall. Amir Ardolino and Aidan Strebel both shot an 82, and Aaron Murikami was just a stroke behind them at an 83. The Pride will travel to Cape Cod and the Captains Course in Brewster, Mass., next weekend to participate in the NEIGA Championship, which will be their last event of the fall season before they resume in the spring.
Men’s Soccer: The Pride went winless this week, losing to MIT and drawing with Worcester State The Pride let up two first-half goals against MIT, and then were unable to find the back of the net. Despite nine shots in the second half, only three of them were on target, and the MIT keeper was able to save every attempt on his net. Against Worcester State, the Pride outshot the Lancers 12-3, but the score remained a 1-1 tie. Chris Cruz opened the scoring for Springfield, with his strike finding the back of the net, however, Worcester State found an answer 12 minutes later. Springfield plays just a lone game next week, against WPI on the road.
Women’s Soccer: Coach Kristin Cannon’s squad came away with a split this week. Springfield took home a win against Coast Guard, with Sadie Crozier scoring off a corner kick in the 37th minute to give the Pride a lead they would not relinquish. Meredith Healy added an insurance goal in the final minute of the game to give Springfield a 2-0 win. Against MIT, Springfield surrendered four first half goals, giving MIT an insurmountable lead. Kaitlyn Suller got a goal back for Springfield, but it was not enough, as the Pride fell 4-1. A pair of NEWMAC opponents awaits, with Mount Holyoke on Oct. 11 and Emerson on Oct.14.
Women’s Volleyball: A 3-0 clean sweep over Coast Guard helped the Pride improve to 17-1 on the season. Springfield used late runs in the first and second sets to help it take control, before starting out hot in the third set to complete the sweep. Riley Donahue once again led the way with 16 kills in the win, while libero Ally Townsend filled up the stat sheet with 14 digs and five service aces. Natalie Billet put in a good performance as well, with nine kills and digs. Springfield’s 12 service aces was its best mark since Sept. 23, and its 13 total blocks the best since Sept. 9. The Pride have a three-game road trip week coming up, and will travel to Amherst, Mount Holyoke and Wellesley over the course of the next week.
Photo Courtesy of Springfield Athletics