Middletown, Conn. - April 20, 2022 - The Springfield College men's lacrosse program fell on the road at Wesleyan College, 20-12, on Wednesday evening in non-conference play. 

The Pride are now 6-7 overall, while Wesleyan, who was ranked No. 13 in the latest national poll, improves to 10-3. 

Chris Santa Barbara (Hillsborough, N.J.) buried a game-high six goals for Springfield, while Connor Roberts (Somers, Conn.) and Zac Schuette (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) both scored twice for the Pride. 

Jake Sexton and Justin Hazard each had four goals for the Cardinal. 

The Pride faced a 2-0 deficit early after a Matt Gill goal for Wesleyan at 7:20 put the hosts up two scores. Springfield stormed back and took the lead with three-straight goals, including back-to-back snipes from Roberts as the Pride regained the lead at 3-2 with 3:57 to go in the quarter. Wesleyan tacked on two more to go ahead 4-3 just before the end of the first quarter. 

In the second quarter, the Pride battled out to a 8-5 lead with 7:42 to go in the frame as Steven Betsch (Port Washington, N.Y.) won a faceoff and dumped the ball to Schuette for the quick score. Again, Wesleyan closed the gap before the half as Gill scored and assisted on both goals for Wesleyan to make the score 8-7 in favor of Springfield.

Wesleyan came out firing in the third quarter and scored seven unanswered goals up to the 7:43 mark to take a 15-8 lead. Santa Barbara would stop the drought for Springfield with a goal at 4:15 to cut the deficit to 16-9. 

The Pride got as close as six twice in the fourth quarter, however, Wesleyan would have an answer to Springfield's attack to hold for the win. 

Springfield travels to Coast Guard on Saturday at 3:00. 

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Fans can also download the Springfield "Front Row" mobile app, powered by PrestoSports, on iTunes and the Android Market.