Jimmy Kelley
Online/Sports Editor
MEN’S LACROSSE: Something about Amherst brings out the best in Rob Maher. The Springfield goalkeeper had a season-high 21 saves on Wednesday, but the Pride fell, 13-12, to the Lord Jeffs.
This comes a year after Maher played one of the best games of his career, saving 23 shots to lead to Pride to a 9-6 upset.
Bryce Cerriello paced the offense with four goals. The 6-foot-1 sophomore has taken the bulk of the Pride’s shots this season and has been connecting lately with seven goals in the last three games.
The tide turned in the fourth quarter when the Pride’s 12-10 lead disappeared amidst a flurry of offense from the Lord Jeffs. Devin Acton’s game-winning tally came with 1:04 to play in the game and capped a 3-0 run to end the game.
WOMEN’S LACROSSE: Trinity blitzed the women’s lacrosse team on Wednesday in Hartford, Conn. with its offense, giving them a 19-5 win over the Pride.
Freshman Connie Nielsen continued her strong freshman campaign with two more goals, raising her season tally to 27. Michelle Dorsey also netted two goals for the Pride.
In one of the more bizarre scorelines you’ll ever see, Trinity’s goalkeepers – yes, two played – earned the win despite failing to make a save. The Pride put five shots on net and all five found the back of the net.
On the other end of the field, Anne Versprille made 11 saves. Combined with the 19 goals, Trinity’s shots-on-goal number was a staggering 30 for the day.
Kelly Gallo had the other goal for the Pride, while Meghan Flanagan, Kerstin Lindrooth and Nielsen added asssists.
As impressive as Nielsen’s freshman season has been, she is still a bit off the school’s freshman record pace. Holly Carmody netted 44 goals in 2003 on her way to a school-record 159.
However, she is ahead of No. 2 on that list, Jackie Moscardelli, who had 18 goals during her freshman season.
BASEBALL: The Pride couldn’t keep it rolling on Wednesday afternoon, April 10, when Roger Williams used a six-run fifth inning to get the 11-6 non-conference win.
Junior Mike McGowan went 3-for-3 with three runs scored to pace the Pride’s offense. Jack Porter took his first loss on the mound.
MEN’S BASKETBALL:
On Sunday afternoon the Lord Jeffs of Amherst College won the NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship by beating Mary Hardin-Baylor, 87-70.
The win was the 24th in a row for Amherst, who only lost two games all season. Their last loss was to Babson, but their first loss was to Springfield back on Dec. 1 at the Pioneer Valley Classic held at Westfield State University.
The 70-64 win was one of the Pride’s several big wins on the season, and was a total team effort. Seven players played more than 20 minutes and all seven scored a basket.
Springfield also knocked off preseason No. 1 MIT twice and scored a win over WPI when the Engineers were ranked No. 2 nationally.
Even though the Pride’s run ended early, the 2012-13 season had plenty of proud moments.