Springfield, Mass. – October 14, 2008 – The Springfield College womenÂ's soccer team continued its terrific play as of late as it downed Mount Holyoke, 5-0, on Tuesday evening in New England WomenÂ's and MenÂ's Athletic Conference play.
The Pride, which jumped five spots this week in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s (NSCAA) National Poll to 17th in the country, improve to 9-2-2, 4-0-1 in NEWMAC play. The Lyons drop to 4-9, 1-4 in league play.
The Lyons wasted no time putting their best effort on goal early, as Stephanie DunajÂ's shot just 13 seconds into the game sailed wide of the Springfield goal.
Shanda Kogut (Preston, Conn.) put the Pride on the board 10 minutes into the game after she converted a beautiful feed from Nicole Hanewich (Smithfield, R.I.). After Kogut collected the ball while making a run down the left flank, her and Hanewich connected a perfectly executed give-and go. Kogut made no mistake as she lofted her left-footed strike just off the finger tips of Lyons keeper Elaine Harvey to give the home squad a 1-0 advantage.
Constant pressure in the first half resulted in no more goals however for the Pride as it went into halftime with a one-goal edge.
In the second half, the Pride set the tone early as Courtney PriceÂ's (Enfield, Conn.) free kick from just outside the box was denied after an outstanding diving save by Harvey, who poked the ball off the crossbar and out of bounds.
Jackie Moscardelli (Weymouth, Mass.) found the back of the net at the 56:54 mark to give Springfield a 2-0 lead after she ripped an unassisted tally from just outside the box for her first collegiate goal.
The Pride continued to pour it on the offense as Price connected with Amber Thornton (Troy, N.Y.) in the 69th minute. Thornton flicked the ball from 10 yards out into the left side of the net for the PrideÂ's third tally of the game.
Six minutes later, Maria Evans (Gloucester, Mass.) found Price all alone in the box and the sophomore midfielder slipped her shot from six yards out past Harvey to give Springfield a comfortable 4-0 lead.
Nicole Baker (Ridgefield, Conn.) closed out SpringfieldÂ's scoring on the night as she made a move to her left and buried a shot into the left side netting from 15 yards out with just 11 seconds left in regulation.
Springfield held a 25-3 advantage in shots, including a 17-1 edge in the second half. The Pride also held a 12-2 lead in corner kicks.
Harvey played spectacular, making 11 saves, including several point blank stops to keep the Lyons in the game. SpringfieldÂ's Sue Jenney (Agawam, Mass.) recorded the shutout without making a save on the night.
Springfield returns to action on Saturday when it travels to square off against rival Wellesley in a conference clash at 1:00 pm.
