Springfield, Mass. – March 2, 2024 – The Springfield College men's lacrosse team was clipped by Union, 13-12, on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field.
 
Union, who was ranked 12^th nationally this week in the USILA Division III Poll, improved to 3-0 on the year, while the Pride dipped to 0-3. 

Jake Degnan (Mahopac, N.Y.) totaled three goals in the setback for the Pride, while Mason Nocito (Mahopac, N.Y.) added a goal and two helpers.  Connor Roberts (Somers, Conn.) was credited with five caused turnovers as Springfield held a 41-35 advantage in shots in the game.  

Union's Peter Kip tallied four goals and two assists, Dan Donahue made 15 saves in cage, and Matthew Paolatto was dominant at the "X", going 18-for-24 with nine ground balls.  
 
The Pride got off to a tremendous start, seizing a 4-1 lead when Nick Savastano (South Salem, N.Y.) got free for a lefty finish from five yards out, capping off a three-goal spurt which came in 59 seconds as the visitors called for timeout at the 9:10 mark.  Springfield would maintain a 5-3 cushion heading into the second as Nocito muscled his way down the alley for an unassisted mark at 2:31.

Union would string together the first two goals of the second quarter to even the game up at 5-5 at the 11:35 mark and would take a 7-6 lead with 8:08 remaining in the half when Matt McKenzie tiptoed along the crease for a finish.  However, Springfield would get a man-up strike from Matt Webb (Northport, N.Y.) and Kevin Tierney (Glastonbury, Conn.) spun off his defender for an unassisted strike at 3:05 to give the hosts an 8-7 halftime cushion.

Union's man-up unit set the tone to start the second half, taking advantage of a locked in Pride penalty for a pair of goals by Michael Shaw and Zach Davis inside the opening 38 seconds before Kip added a man-up goal of his own at 9:58 to make it an 8-10 game. Springfield would battle back as Degnan delivered a his second of the game and Rory Scanlon (Maple Grove, Minn.) finished inside while being hit at 2:38 to even things up.

The visitors would again start off the fourth with two quick goals in the opening two-plus minutes, but Degnan would blister in a man-up strike off a feed from Nocito to make it a one-goal game at 7:46.  Union responded less than a minute later but Springfield would make one final push as Roberts caused a turnover and went the length of the field for a transition goal.  The graduate student would later force another turnover to give Springfield possession with under 20 seconds to play.  However, coming out of a timeout, the Pride was unable to get a shot on cage as it was edged in the non-conference clash.  

The Pride will face a nationally-ranked opponent for the third time this season on Wednesday when it hosts No. 14 Amherst at 6 pm.

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