Springfield, Mass – November 1, 2011 – Kelly Gallo scored two first half goals to power the fourth-seeded Springfield College field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded WPI in New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Quarterfinal action Wednesday night at Stagg Field.

With the win, Springfield moves to 5-13 overall and advances to take on top-seeded MIT on Saturday morning at 11:00 am. WPI falls to to 11-7 with the loss.

All three of game’s goals were scored in a 7:26 span in the first half of play. Springfield opened up the scoring at 16:27 mark after Megan McHugh carried the ball to the end line towards the cage before connecting on a centering pass to Kelly Gallo. The sophomore forward promptly slammed home her first tally of the game to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

WPI responded at the 23:26 mark as Sasha Marokhovsky took a driven ball and redirected it in front of a crowded goal mouth. Libbi Richardson flipped the loose ball past Springfield keeper Grace Bibber to tie the score at one apiece.

On the ensuing restart, the Pride scored a goal nearly identical to its first. Once again Gallo was all alone in front of the cage and took a pass from McHugh for the strike and what would prove to be the game-winner just 27 seconds after the Engineers marker.

Bibber salvaged the 2-1 advantage by stopping a penalty stroke midway through the second half. WPI’s Danielle Antonellis bid was right at Bibber and the freshman made a smooth save to keep the Pride’s one-goal lead.

Springfield owned a 19-7 advtange in shots and a 10-2 edge in corners. WPI’s Liz Dufresne made five saves in goal, while Bibber notched three stops in the victory.