SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – April 26, 2008- A late five unanswered goal spurt pushed the Springfield College womenÂ's lacrosse team past Smith, 14-8, on a perfect spring afternoon at Stagg Field.
With the win, the Pride improve to 9-6, 5-1 in New England WomenÂ's and MenÂ's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play while the Pioneers drop to 5-9, 1-5.
After a Caitlin Kennedy goal with 10:50 left in the contest brought the Pioneers within one, 9-8, Springfield rattled off the next five goals to win by a 14-8 count. All five goals were unassisted tallies as Kaeleigh Lannan netted the first two of the run to set the pace for Springfield.
Trailing 6-5 entering the second half, Krista TurnbullÂ's goal just 51 seconds into the stanza tied the game at six. Off a feed from Lindsay Bugbee, Rachel Lampros slipped her shot past the Smith keeper to give SpringfieldÂ's its first lead since 3-2.
A Smith goal in transition from Sara Smyth tied the game at seven, but LannanÂ's first goal of the game at the 19:54 mark put the Pride up for good.
The Pride raced out to a 3-0 lead after the first 10 minutes of play in the opening half. A pair of Alexandra Bazzano goals sandwiched an Erin Doolan tally to give Springfield a three-goal advantage. All three goals came in a 2:52 span, with DoolanÂ's and BazzanoÂ's second tally separated by just 14 seconds. However, Smith responded with four unanswered goals over the next six-plus minutes to take its first lead of the contest. Smyth found the back of the cage three times in the spurt for the Pioneers. Springfield tied the game at four after Heather Dobson bounce shot on her free position attempt found the back of the net. Smyth once again put the visitors on top as she spun off her defender for her fourth goal of the half. Nicole Flores beat Smith keeper Sara Smith low off a feed from Meagan Dobson to knot the game at five with 5:26 remaining in the half. However, Caitlin KennedyÂ's free position goal with 3:22 on the clock gave the visitors a 6-5 lead after one half of play.
Lannan, Lampros, and Bazzano all recorded hat tricks in the win, while Doolan added a pair. SpringfieldÂ's ride was great all game as it held Smith to 9 for 24 on clears. Lauren McAulay made 10 saves in goal for SC.
Smyth led all scorers with five goals, while Kennedy added two of her own. Sara Smith made 12 saves in goal in the contest.
The Pride return to action next Wednesday when it hosts a NEWMAC first round contest against Mount Holyoke.
