Springfield, Mass. – April 3, 2017 – In a rematch of last year's New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, the Springfield College men's lacrosse team shut down Babson for a 9-5 victory on Monday afternoon at Stagg Field.

The Pride improved to 5-2, 1-0 with the win, while the Beavers evened their record at 4-4, 0-1.

Jake Reynolds (Scituate, Mass.) made 20 saves in goal for the Pride, while Brendan Dooley (Setauket, N.Y.) caused six turnovers to key a defensive unit that allowed its fewest goals of the season.  Jack Vail (Franklin, Mass.) totaled a team-best three goals, while both Dom Abate (Beverly, Mass.) and Phillip Dumont (Watertown, Mass.) scored a pair.  Matthew LaCroix (Westfield, Mass.) won 8-of-15 draws in the game and picked up a team-high seven ground balls. 

Chris Cunnington (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) caused a turnover on Babson's opening possession and delivered a great up-field pass to a streaking Kyle Dillon (Mahopac, N.Y.), who made the most of the Pride's transition opportunity, connecting with Dumont for the game's first goal just 54 seconds into the contest.

Babson evened the game with a man-up goal from Alex Brown with 2:40 left in the first quarter, only to have Tom Hurley (Goffstown, N.H.) pump home an unassisted goal 43 seconds later to put Springfield back on top.

Babson's Owen Allen connected from 15 yards out 32 seconds into the quarter to knot the game for the final time as Springfield would put together five unanswered goals over the next 29-plus minutes to open up a 7-2 cushion.

The Pride's run started with 11 minutes left in the first half when Ty Daugstrup (Rocky River, Ohio) shook his defender and found Vail to put Springfield ahead for good.  An unassisted goal from Abate with 5:58 on the clock sent the Pride into halftime with a 4-2 lead, and unassisted third-quarter strikes from both Dumont and Tim Cozens (Ridgefield, Conn.) pushed the lead to four for the hosts. 

Springfield came out of the fourth quarter and fooled the Beavers with a hidden ball trick goal which resulted in a man-up goal by Vail from Hurley just 13 seconds into the final stanza to cap off the scoring burst.

Babson responded with a pair of goals 2:38 apart to make it a three-goal game, but consecutive goals from Abate and Vail allowed Springfield to regain a five-goal cushion.  The visitors closed out the game with Samuel Mishkind's second goal of the afternoon as the Pride held on for a important conference win. 

Up next for Springfield will be Mass. Maritime, which will visit Stagg Field on Saturday for a 1 pm game.

Photo by Mark Finerty