Norton, Mass. - April 16, 2016 - Despite holding a 6-2 advantage in the second half, the Springfield College women's lacrosse program fell to New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC)-rival Wheaton College, 7-6, on Saturday afternoon at Nordin Field.

With the loss, Springfield is now 9-4 on the year, and 4-1 in league play, while the Lyons improve to 7-7 on the year and 4-2 in conference.

Springfield held a narrow 8-7 edge in draw controls over 60 minutes of play, while the Lyons picked up 22 ground balls to the Pride's 21. Wheaton also held a 20-12 advantage in shots on the day, holding the Pride to just one shot in the first half.

For Springfield, the duo of Heather Raniolo (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and Shelby Corsano (Bourne, Mass.) combined for all six of the Pride's goals, as each tallied three apiece, all unassisted. In net, Gabby Anderson (Mahopac, N.Y.) tallied seven saves in the loss.

It was all Wheaton in the first half of Saturday's contest, as goals from Jenna Tewksbury (Concord, N.H.) and Brooke Sabol (Landgrove, Vt.) gave the hosts a 2-0 lead just 10:46 into the game. With 14:46 left in the first, Sabol tacked on her second of the game, followed by strikes from Katie Peters (Medway, Mass.) and Tewksbury to go into the break with a 5-0 lead.

After Sabol notched her third of the day just 2:19 into the second half, Heather Raniolo single handedly brought the Pride back to within three, following three unanswered goals in a span of 10:02 to make it 6-3, before a pair of unassisted goals from Corsano 59 seconds apart made it a one-goal game.

With 10:16 left, Angela Mallis (Falmouth, Maine) gave Wheaton back its two-goal lead, but Corsano would answer with a free-position conversion of her own to make it a one-goal game again.

The Lyons were able to fend off the late charge from the Pride to hold on for the 7-6 win.

Up next, Springfield will host Smith College on Wednesday, April 20 at 6 p.m. in its final home contest of the regular season.