Springfield, Mass. - September 21, 2015 - The Springfield College men's soccer team erupted for five second-half goals as it cruised past Anna Maria, 5-0, on Monday evening in non-conference action at Brock-Affleck Field.

Springfield improves to 6-1 on the year with the victory, while Anna Maria drops to 0-4-1.

After a scoreless first 45 minutes, the Pride's offense kicked it into high gear to begin the second half.  After the Amcats were whistled for a foul at the top of the box, Ryan Elster (Sutton, Mass.) buried his free kick bid into the left side of the goal for his first career goal in a Springfield uniform.

Springfield benefited from some great hustle as it added to its lead in the 54th minute.  After Tim Wood (Derry, N.H.) played a ball into the corner, Danny Murphy (Old Saybrook, Conn.) out-ran his defender and carried the ball along the goal line, utlimatley centering a pass into the middle of the box.  Wood was all alone and calmly tucked a shot into the back of the net to double the Pride's advantage.

In the 58th minute, Luke Alvaro (Chicopee, Mass.) pumped home his team-leading seventh goal of the year after terrific ball movement from Christian Schneider (Shelton, Conn.) and Nick Kobel (Webster, Mass.), both of whom were credited with assists.

The goals continued to come in a frenzy, as Springfield tacked on two more strikes in a span of just 56 seconds.  Wayne Belcher (Norton, Mass.) blasted in a shot that deflected off an Anna Maria defender at the 62:41 mark, only to have Schneider deliver a beautiful feed to Curtis Bolduc (South Windsor, Conn.) for the Pride's fifth tally of the evening with 65:17 on the clock.

Springfield owned a 25-5 advantage in shots, including 16-2 in the second half.  The Pride also took all 10 of the game's corner kicks.  Billy Schmid (Wethersfield, Conn.) played 71:02 in cage and did not make a save to earn the win, while Stewart Frank (Pittsford, N.Y.) played the final 18:58, making one stop. 

For Anna Maria, Elliot Kuzma totaled four saves in the setback.  The Amcats best scoring opportunity came in the waning moments of the first half after Christopher Mattioli's bid from 25 yards was drilled just wide of the upper left corner.

Springfield will return to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Saturday when it travels to take on Emerson at 3:00 pm.