Springfield, Mass. - May 7, 2022 - The Springfield College women's lacrosse program delivered an 8-6 come from behind victory over Babson College on Saturday in the New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament Final at Stagg Field.
With the victory, the Pride captured the eighth NEWMAC title in program history and first since 2019. Springfield will now await its selection in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.
Haley Moody (Wells, Maine) was tremendous between the pipes for Springfield as the sophomore tallied a career-best 15 saves in the championship bout. Jade O'Connor (Baltimore, Md.) produced three goals to go along with two assists en route to earning Most Outstanding Player honors. Katie Campbell (Somers, N.Y.) owned the draw collecting 10 draws, while Allison Delmonte (Bridgewater, Mass.) produced three caused turnovers.
Erin Jayne scored twice for the Beavers, while Kathleen Murphy totaled 11 saves in the setback.
Following the opening goal from O'Connor, Babson scored twice to take a 2-1 lead with 6:59 to play in the quarter. O'Connor set up Katie Martel (Hartland, Conn.) to tie the game at 2-2 with 6:37 to play, but Babson would close the first quarter as Courtney Kaskey dished to Jayne for the score to put Babson up 3-2 after the first quarter. Both teams scored just once in the second quarter as Murphy made five saves for the Beavers to help Babson take a 4-3 advantage into the break.
The Pride came out and owned the third quarter scoring four unanswered in the frame. At 12:05, Taylor Pichel (Hopkinton, Mass.) picked up a ground ball and sprinted down the field to connect with Karen Joy (South Windsor, Conn.) to tie the game at 4-4 for Springfield. Springfield took its first lead since the 14:28 mark in the first quarter as Martel stuck a shot following the feed from Maddie Roy (Wilbraham, Mass.). Springfield got its lead up 7-4 with 2:46 to play after impressive strikes from O'Connor and Roy as the Pride held a three-goal cushion with one quarter to play.
The scoring surge was capped at 9:39 mark in the fourth as Holly Rivers (Danbury, Conn.) curled the crease to feed Arielle Johnson (Woodstock, Conn.) for the score to put the Pride ahead 8-4. Babson would score two-straight goals to close the gap to 8-6 with 2:19 to play and make things interesting. The Pride defense withstood the Babson attack in the final minutes of the game as Delmonte caused a turnover and Moody collected a pair of critical saves to end the game and crown Springfield champions.
The NCAA Women's Lacrosse Selection Show will air at 10:30 am on Monday.
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