Springfield, Mass. — October 12, 2011 — A pair of three-goal spurts lifted the Plymouth State University field hockey team to a 6-3 victory over Springfield College tonight at rainy Amos Alonzo Stagg Field. The Panthers are now 11-1, while the Pride falls to 2-10 overall.

Plymouth State was led by sophomore forward Jackie Morin (Scarborough, Me.) with three goals and one assist. Junior forward Meghan McHugh (Greenfield, Mass.) was the sparkplug for the Pride with two goals.

It was a strange game in one sense in that SC finished with 11 penalty corners to Plymouth State’s four. The Panthers finished with 15 shots to SC’s 14.

There were long periods of time in which Springfield had the better of play. But there were two key stretches where PSU took advantage of lapses by the home team.

In a span of 6:08 fairly early in the first half, the Panthers scored three goals to take a quick 3-0 lead. The third goal forced SC to take a time out.

At 5:15, senior defender Erin Norris (Hilton, N.Y.) gave PSU the initial lead on a goal from directly out front. Norris was assisted by senior midfielder Lauren Bergeron (New Hampton, N.H.). At 9:16, Morin struck for her first goal (unassisted). Then at 11:23, Morin found freshman forward Nikki Garvey (Canaan, N.H.) on the left, and Garvey drilled it home.

From there-on, SC righted the ship and began to take more control. At 32:17, McHugh scored an unassisted goal, giving SC its first goal and a bit of hope. It was 3-1, PSU, at the half.

At the start of the second half, sophomore Kelly Gallo (Westfield, Mass.), the reigning NEWMAC Player of the Week, orchestrated a superb solo effort, carrying the ball along the right sideline, then deking a defender to place the ball right on the stick of senior forward Alexa Carlson (New Milford, Conn.). Just 23 seconds into the second half, Carlson did not miss, cutting the margin to 3-2.

Just moments later, SC sophomore defender Amy Dean (Westbrook, Conn.) was awarded a penalty shot, but PSU junior goalkeeper Hilary Lemelin (Milan, N.H.) made a clean stick save.

But just a few minutes beyond that, McHugh fired a rocket to tie it up for the home folks. Her goal was assisted by senior midfielder Kaila Dee (New Hartford, Conn.), and SC had all the momentum.

But then came PSU’s second three-goal spurt. This time the Panthers scored in a span of 6:07.

Morin scored twice, within a matter of 1:32, to take that momentum away from SC. The goals came at 47:26 on an assist from Garvey, and at 48:58 (unassisted). Finally, Norris scored her second goal of the night at 53:33. Her goal was again assisted by Bergeron.

This Saturday (Oct. 15), SC plays a NEWMAC conference contest at home at 11 am versus Wheaton.