Jon Santer
Staff Writer
Last season, the Springfield College men’s soccer team won their first NEWMAC championship since 1999 by defeating the Babson Beavers, 4-3 in penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. The Beavers who were ranked 12th in the nation not only expected to win, but expected the automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament that the victor would be awarded.
The upset was complete, the Pride had defeated Babson and brought their three-year league championship run to an end. Springfield was headed to the NCAA tournament.
Following the disappointing loss, the Beavers came into the 2012 season ready to go. Through 15 games this season the Beavers stand at an impressive 11-3-1 and perfect 4-0 in the conference. Their potent offense, led by senior midfielder Eric Anderson with 14 goals and eight assists, averages just below three goals a game. Junior goalkeeper Jackson Klein has posted a stout 1.09 goals against average in twelve starts for the Beavers.
The Pride sit in third place in the NEWMAC behind Babson and Coast Guard and will be looking to repeat last year’s effort and best the Beavers once again. Led by goalkeeper Brett Bascom and captain David Chessen, Springfield will need to keep the Babson attack at bay in order to come out victorious.
The Pride are coming off of a 3-1 loss to the nationally ranked Brandeis College on Wednesday night. Before this, Springfield was riding a three game win streak versus Clark, Westfield State and MIT.
Springfield will host the Beavers this Saturday at 12:00 on Brock Affleck Field.