Schenectady, N.Y. - September 15, 2023 - The Springfield College football team was upended for the first time in the 2023 campaign as it was bested by Union, 34-7, on Friday night at Frank Bailey Field. 

The Pride, which was once again receiving votes in the most recent D3football.com National Poll, fell to 2-1 on the season, while Union moved to 3-0. 

In a game that pitted the two of the top ranked rushing offenses in the nation, the Pride had 150 yards on the ground, while Union totaled 445 yards of offense, including 256 through the air.  Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.) had a team-best 53 yards for Springfield on 18 carries.  Defensively, Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) had a team-best 10 tackles and would account for Springfield's lone score of the day on a 64 yard punt return in the third quarter.

Springfield seemed poised to strike first after a scoreless first quarter as it manufactured a 16-play drive that chewed up nearly 11 minutes off the clock.  However, Union came up with a key sack that pushed the Pride out of field goal range as the visitors were forced to punt. The hosts responded with a 12-play drive that spanned 80 yards and was capped off by Michael Fiore's first touchdown of the day with 6:54 remaining in the half.  The Garnet Chargers came up with an interception on the next drive and Donavan Pacatte punched in a two-yard TD to double up the hosts lead just over three minutes later.  Union made it a three-score game as Pacatte connected with Tommy Leonard in the back corner of the end zone with under a minute left in the second quarter.

The teams would trade punts to start the second half, but it was Maurer who broke through the Union defense for a special teams touchdown by the Pride as he raced 64 yards untouched to make it a 21-7 contest at the 9:26 mark. Union would answer with a pair of field goals from 40 and 25 yards out in the third quarter and cap off the scoring with another Fiore rushing touchdown less than five minutes into the fourth to make it a 34-7 ballgame.

Springfield will open up New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play next Saturday when it hosts Coast Guard at 3:30 pm. 

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