Boston, Mass. – September 21, 2024 – A goal by sophomore Connor Policarpio (Bristol, Conn.) in the 86th minute secured a 1-0 win for the Springfield College men's soccer team against Emerson College in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener for both squads on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Both squads moved to 2-4-1 overall on the year – Springfield now starts off at 1-0-0 in NEWMAC play, while Emerson sits at 0-1-0 in the league standings.

In the tightly contested match that saw Springfield hold a 13-8 edge in shots, but Emerson maintain an 8-3 differential in corner kicks, neither team could get through the others keepers until late in the game. Over 90 minutes, Noah Pote (Washington, Conn.) made a trio of saves for the Pride, while Beckett Hobbs stopped six Springfield shots.

Then in the 86th minute, Emerson was awarded a corner kick that was booted into the box and quickly cleared by Springfield as the ball fell to the foot of Cole Sampson (Hingham, Mass.). Sampson found Policarpio driving down midfield and slipped the ball right to his feet as he went 1-on-1 with Hobbs and buried what proved to be the game winner.

Policarpio's goal was his second of the season and broke a string of 276 scoreless minutes of soccer for Springfield College dating back to the team's 3-0 win at Curry on September 10.

Springfield is scheduled to welcome Clark University to Alden Street for a NEWMAC tilt next Saturday, September 28 at 1:00 pm.

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