Bristol, R.I. - February 22, 2023 - In their first contest of the 2023 campaign, the Springfield College women's lacrosse team was upended by Roger Williams, 15-8, on Wednesday afternoon. 

The meeting pitted a pair of teams who played in last year's NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.  The Hawks held a slight 33-32 edge in shots in the game, while the Pride had a 14-13 advantage in draw controls and limited the hosts to 1-for-8 on free position shots.  Jade O'Connor (Baltimore, Md.) netted four goals, Gianna Scialdone (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) snagged five draws  and Haley Moody (Wells, Maine) made 13 stops in the cage for Springfield. 

The Pride jumped out to a 2-0 lead just over 90 seconds into the game as O'Connor stung a free-position strike and Sarah Newton (Colchester, Conn.) caught a feed in traffic along the crease and finished inside at 13:27.  However, over the next 27-plus minutes, the Hawks would rattled off nine-straight goals as its lead ballooned to 9-2 with 12:31 remaining in the third quarter. 

Abby Taylor (Cumberland Foreside, Maine) would break the Pride's scoring drought with a free-position goal at 11:37, only to have the Hawks score the final four goals of the third quarter to head into the fourth with a 13-3 advantage. 

The Pride would outscore Roger Williams by a 5-2 margin in the fourth, with O'Connor accounting for three goals in the quarter, but the Hawks were able to hold on for the non-conference win. 

Springfield will hit the field again on Saturday when it travels to play at Western New England. 

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