Springfield, Mass. - September 6, 2015 - The Springfield College field hockey team defeated Plymouth State, 6-2, on Sunday afternoon at Stagg Field to claim the 2015 Zenaty Invitational Championship.

Springfield defender Jillian Macdonald (South Yarmouth, Mass.) was named the MVP of the Invitational, while teammate Katie Gill (Wallingford, Conn.) joined her on the All-Tournament Team.

The Pride held a 35-8 advantage in shots, including an 18-3 cushion in the second 35 minutes of play.  Springfield also held a 15-3 edge in penalty corners.

Timarie Villa (Mashpee, Mass.) made three saves in goal for the Pride, while her counterpart, Alivia Bates (Pennsauken, N.J.) was credited with 16 stops for the Panthers.

After Lily Davis (Boscawen, N.H.) gave the Panthers an early 1-0 lead with 15:24 left in the fist half, Jamie Raccosta (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) picked up a rebound off a blocked shot fom Maggie Kennedy (Clay, N.Y.) and fired one past Bates to even the score at one-goal apiece.

Just 2:23 later, Gill found Libby Hart (Chatham, Mass.) in the crease for the score to give Springfield a one-goal lead.  However, the Panthers countered with a goal of its own from Kendal Lariviere (Dover, N.H.), as she cleaned up a rebound off a Molly Hoekman (Harwinton, Conn.) bid.

The Pride regained the lead for good with 4:46 left in the first half as Gill punched in a shot in front of the cage.  

Springfield carried its momentum into the second half, as freshman midfielder Amanda Nusbaum (Conway, N.H.) registered her first-career goal just 3:33 into the second half after corralling a pass from Hart and finding the back of the net to extend the Pride's lead to two.

Nusbaum assisted on two more Gill goals in the 49th and 54th minute as the Pride cruised to the 6-2 victory.

Springfield is back in action on Thursday, September 10 when it travels to play at Keene State for a 6:30 pm contest.

All-Tournamen Team

Jillian MacDonald - Springfield - MVP
Katie Gill - Springfield
Eileen Crutchfield - Plymouth State
Allison Ward - Southern Maine
Margo Tremaine - Brockport