Babson Park, Mass. – May 1, 2010 – The second-seeded Springfield College women’s lacrosse team outscored third-seeded Mount Holyoke College, 12-4, in the second half to erase a one-goal halftime deficit on its way to a 17-10 win over the Lyons in the semifinal round of the 2010 New England WomenÂ's and MenÂ's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) WomenÂ's Lacrosse Tournament at Babson CollegeÂ's MacDowell Field on Saturday.

  With the win, the Pride (10-7) move on to play top-seeded Babson in the NEWMAC Championship Game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Beavers punched their ticket to the finals by defeating fifth-seeded MIT by a score 16-7 in SaturdayÂ's first semifinal matchup. Meanwhile, Mount Holyoke sees its outstanding season come to a close with a record of 10-6.

  Springfield sophomore Jackie Moscardelli led all players with five goals and one assist for six points in the Pride victory, while junior Meagan Dobson added three goals and two assists. Erin Doolan struck for two goals and two assists in the win, and senior Alexandra Bazzano, senior Jenn Zubkus, and junior Nicole Soucie chipped in with two goals apiece. Senior goalie Lauren McAulay played all 60 minutes in net for the Pride, turning away 11 shots.

  Mount Holyoke was led by senior Perry Markell, who scored four goals and picked up nine draw controls in defeat, and sophomore Hilary Bombard, who scored three goals. Senior Peggy Wefald added two goals, one assist, and four draws for the Lyons, and sophomore goalie Jeanmarie Petersen finished with nine saves in net.

  Trailing 6-5 at the half, Springfield exploded out of the gate in the second stanza, scoring five straight goals, including two apiece by Dobson and Moscardelli, to take its first lead of the game at 10-6. Markell answered with a goal for the Lyons at 17:17, but the Pride rattled off five more unanswered scores to complete a 10-1 run and take a commanding 15-7 lead.

  Mount Holyoke would score three of the gameÂ's next four goals to get back to within six at 16-10, with 5:46 left, but Dobson tacked on another goal as the Pride held on for the 17-10 victory.

  Neither team led by more than two in a closely contested first half. Mount Holyoke grabbed an early 2-0 lead on back-to-back goals by Perry Markell and junior Georgia Markell in the opening 5:04, but Springfield answered with consecutive strikes by Bazzano and Moscardelli to knot the contest at 2-2.

  The Lyons quickly surged ahead again with goals by Bombard and Perry Markell at 18:53 and 14:42, but Soucie and Zubkus responded with two straight scores for Springfield to even the contest once again, 4-4, with 6:15 remaining in the opening session.

  After Bombard and Moscardelli traded goals at 5:03 and 2:26, Wefald scored on a free position with 2:02 left in the first half, giving Mount Holyoke a 6-5 lead that it would carry into the break.