Springfield, Mass. - March 23, 2016 - Despite scoring three second-half goals, the Springfield College women's lacrosse program fell to nationally-ranked Amherst College, 8-3, on Wednesday night at Stagg Field.

With the loss, Springfield suffers its second setback in a row, and falls to 5-2 on the year, while Amherst, which was ranked No. 11 in the latest Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) National Rankings, improves to 4-1 overall.

Junior goalkeeper Gabby Anderson (Mahopac, N.Y.) finished with a game-high seven saves for the Pride, while her counterpart, senior Christy Forrest (Madison, Conn.) made five stops and picked up a game-high five ground balls for Amherst.

Springfield received scoring from Kristen Steidler (Somers, Conn.), Shelby Corsano (Bourne, Mass.) and Heather Raniolo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), while sophomore Ann Mahoney (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) picked up a team-best three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

For Amherst, Mia Haugton (Princeton, N.J.) posted three points, including two goals and one assist, while Rachel Passarelli (Hamden, Conn.) and Kate Wyeth (Concord, Mass.) registered two goals apiece.

Amherst struck first just 7:01 into the contest, when Hannah Krueger (Charlotte, N.C.) found a cutting Wyeth, who tucked a shot past Anderson to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage, before Amherst extended its lead to a pair when Passarelli netted her 11th goal of the season with 9:09 left in the half.

Wyeth scored her second of the game off a nice feed from Haughton from behind the net to make it 3-0, before Amherst caused a turnover in its defensive end, and pushed transition the other way, finding Passarelli who bounced a shot into the top right corner to give Amherst a four-goal lead at the break.

Springfield scored the first goal of the second half, when Steidler collected her own rebound and found the back of the net to cut the Pride's deficit to three, before Amherst regained a four-goal margin with a goal from Claire Cagnassola (Summit, N.J.).

The Pride quickly countered when Corsano beat her defender wide, and tip-toed the top of the crease, before firing a shot past Forrest to make it 5-2, Amherst, with 21:14 remaining in the contest. After Coco Kusiak (Longmeadow, Mass.) found a cutting Haughton for another Amherst goal to make it 6-2, Raniolo made it a three-goal game once again when she capitalized on a free-position chance with 7:44 to go.

Amherst would ice the victory with the final two goals of the game, one from Haughton with 6:17 left, and one from Julia Crerend (New Canaan, Conn.), who tucked a feed from Devin O'Connor (Huntington, N.Y.) past Anderson to make it 8-3.

Up next, Springfield will open New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play when it hosts Wellesley on Wednesday, March 30 at 6 p.m.