Springfield, Mass. - April 25, 2026 - The Springfield College women's lacrosse team defeated Wheaton (Mass.) in the first round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Saturday afternoon on Stagg Field, 15-5.
The Pride improve to 11-6 overall as the Lyons end their season at 11-7.
Claire Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.) and Payton Imhof (Bayshore, N.Y.) led the Pride with four goals apiece as Ognibene also added three assists and three ground balls. Lily Johnson (Oceanside, N.Y.) tallied three caused turnovers, three assists, two goals and two ground balls. Izzy Lalancette (Feeding Hills, Mass.) picked up four ground balls as Sarah Newton (Colchester, Conn.) registered six draw controls. Between the pipes, Lindsay Hillemeir (Unionville, Conn.) made seven saves.
The Lyons scored less than two minutes into the game before Johnson found Kristyn Vasselin (Hudson, Mass.) who netted the equalizer for Springfield. Imhof then added one to give Springfield the lead to which they never looked back. Ognibene then tacked on another before Jessica Chamberlin scored a man-up goal at 2:46 as Springfield held the 3-2 lead.
In the second quarter, Springfield held Wheaton scoreless while scoring four more goals. Johnson had two goals for the Pride while Vasselin and Ognibene each added another as Springfield took a 7-2 lead going into the halftime break.
Springfield continued to dominate the final two quarters as the Pride outscored the Lyons 8-3 and were 8-for-12 on shots on goal. Wheaton scored back-to-back goals in the third quarter before the Pride exploded for seven straight goals through the fourth before the Lyons added the final goal at 4:08 and Springfield got the win, 15-5.
Springfield held an edge in shots (32-17), ground balls (21-15) and draw controls (14-8) while going 15-for-18 on the clear.
The Pride will face second-seeded Coast Guard on Wednesday in New London, Conn.
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