By Gage Nutter
Assistant Sports Editor
To say Pride men’s lacrosse dominated in their NEWMAC matchup with Mass. Maritime on Saturday would be an understatement. Twelve different players scored in the 23-3 rout of the Buccaneers. Springfield’s Tom Hurley led the way for the Pride offensively with five goals and two assists. Goalie’s Jake Reynolds and Cole Finerty combined for 12 saves on 15 shots.
Although the Pride had their way with the Buccaneers, Springfield head coach Keith Bugbee feels that Mass. Maritime has guys that always give it their all.
“They aren’t one of the strongest teams we play but they have some physical kids over there,” said Bugbee. “They always play hard. At this point right now it’s not all about our opponent, it’s about taking care of business.”
Both teams were scoreless for the first 10 minutes, but Springfield’s Tim Cozens broke the stalemate by scoring off an opportunity created by a couple nice roll dodges. From then on, it was no turning back. Ty Daugstrup would score twice in the quarter and Hurley would score once to give Springfield a 4-0 lead.
In the second quarter, Springfield picked up right where they left off at the end of the first. The Pride would go on to score four goals in the first three minutes of the period to pull away from the Buccaneers.
Freshmen Isaac Chase and Bennett Nelin scored their first collegiate goals in the second half. When they made their way back to the sidelines after their goals, each player was mobbed by the Springfield sideline and were doused in water.
Many other players got more experience on the field than normal throughout the game. Bugbee is happy with how those players played and conducted themselves throughout the game.
“It was really nice to get that many guys in and seeing the level of play,” said Bugbee. “Those guys came in and played great. They didn’t play selfish, they played smart.”
Hurley led the way offensively for the Pride (five goals and two assists). He feels like he plays his best when he works to get his teammates involved in the game.
“I just tried to play with everyone else and get everyone else on the team involved,” said Hurley. “It really opens up your game when you’re working to open up everyone else’s.”
The Pride will now take on old foe Middlebury College on Wednesday. The Pride eliminated Middlebury in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and are always a top tier team in the region.
“That is a big game,” said Bugbee. “We have got to have a sense of urgency if we want to play well in that one. That would be a huge win for us. I always talk about ‘opportunities’ and that would be a huge opportunity for us.”