By Collin Atwood
@collinatwood17
The last game for the men’s lacrosse team was a nail-biter and Saturday’s game was no different. Springfield College faced Clark University which was a rematch of the 2017 NEWMAC Championship game where Springfield won 18-10. This time around, both teams were searching for their first win of the season, but Springfield wasn’t the team that ended on top.
The Pride fell to the Cougars 12-14 in an intense and brutal game. Based on the players reactions to every goal one would think that each goal had just won them the championship.
After eight goals in the first half, the Pride’s offense went stagnant in the second as the defense tried to keep the game close. Kevin Tierney, sophomore midfielder for Springfield, gave it his all on offense. He ended the game with six of the Pride’s 12 goals. Joe Hawley, attacker for the Pride, also helped the offense out with two goals along with one assist.
Springfield went into the second half down by one and that’s when the defense for both teams really stepped up. Only three goals were allowed in the third quarter and two of them belonged to Clark. Springfield also had three saves in the third which was the most of any quarter for the Pride.
As the fourth quarter started the intensity skyrocketed. Springfield was down by two and they knew the offense had to come alive if they wanted to pull out the win. In the first two minutes Tierney scored to cut the deficit to one.
As Springfield was looking to tie the game up Hawley delivered an absolute missile that blew by two defenders and the goalie seemed to not even see it pass him. As Hawley celebrated with his team on the field the emotions from the bench could be heard by players screaming “Let’s go!” and “There we go Hawley!”
The last nine minutes consisted of back and forth goals by both teams, but not enough from Springfield. Clark ended the game on a 3-1 run to claim their first win.
The effort by Springfield can’t be questioned. Bodies and sticks were flying all over the field. Each goal was more important than the last as the Pride tried to stay within reach.
Springfield will be traveling to Babson on April 25 for their next game. Babson has won the last two games against Springfield by holding them under 10 points both times. Their offense will have to play great for 60 minutes if they want to grab that first win of the 2021 campaign.
Photo Courtesy of Jack Margaros