SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. – Oct. 14, 2008 – Senior midfielder Jane Kelleher (Chatham, Mass.) found the cage for the match winner in the 66th minute, as the Springfield College womenÂ's field hockey team edged Mount Holyoke College 2-1 this afternoon at the Mount Holyoke Turf Field.
Trailing 1-0 late in the second half, the Pride rallied for two goals in the final 11 minutes of regulation to take the New England WomenÂ's and MenÂ's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) thriller. With its sixth straight win over the Lyons, Springfield pushed its perfect Conference mark to 5-0.
Mount Holyoke got on the board in the 28th minute, when junior Katelyn Frick (Lafayette, N.J./Pope John XXII) scored her sixth goal of the year off a feed from classmate Mary Kate Switchenko (Sturbridge, Mass./Dana Hall). Senior Anne Doton (Woodstock, Vt./Woodstock Union) started the play with a pass from just outside the circle that resulted in a scramble in front of the Springfield cage. After collecting the loose ball, Switchenko slid a short pass to Frick, who beat Springfield first year goalkeeper Alison McCarthy (North Andover, Mass.) from point blank range.
The Lyons still enjoyed a 1-0 edge until the 60th minute, when sophomore midfielder Meg Bradley (Cumberland, R.I.) notched the equalizer off of a penalty corner set. Sophomore forward Meagan Dobson (Longmeadow, Mass.) was credited with the assist after her pass found Bradley, who ripped a shot past Mount Holyoke first year goalkeeper Katie Gibson (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Latin) from just inside the circle.
Just over six minutes later, Kelleher snapped the deadlock with her team leading tenth tally of the season. Gibson was able to stop the initial shot by first year forward Alexa Carlson (New Milford, Conn.), but Kelleher scooped up the ensuing rebound and scored what proved to be the winner.
The Pride finished the contest with large advantages in both shots (19-9) and corners (14-3). McCarthy made six saves en route to her eighth win of the fall. Gibson turned away 12 shots in a losing effort for the Lyons.
Both squads will resume their NEWMAC slates on Saturday. Mount Holyoke (6-5, 2-3 NEWMAC) will visit Babson College at 1:00 p.m., while Springfield (9-4, 5-0 NEWMAC) will host Wellesley College at 11:00 a.m.
