Springfield holds off PSU Women’s Lax rally
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield College staved off a furious Plymouth State University second-half rally Thursday evening to defeat the Panthers, 17-13, in a non-conference women’s lacrosse shootout at Stagg Field.
Plymouth State fought back from a seven-goal halftime deficit, pulling to within two goals twice in the second half. Springfield needed a pair of back-to-back game-clinching goals with three minutes to play to claim the victory. The Pride improves to 5-2 on the season while PSU evens its mark at 2-2.
Senior Kalie Judd (Peabody, Mass.) recorded a career-high seven points for PSU with a career-best five goals and two assists. Sophomore Britney Chiles (North Andover, Mass.) tallied a career-best four goals and sophomore Brianna Davis (Framingham, Mass.) contributed three goals and an assist. Judd also had a team-high five ground balls and three draw controls.
Freshman Allie Davis and sophomore Jackie Moscarelli scored five times to lead the Pride to victory.
After a dominating first 30 minutes of play that saw the Pride own a 10-3 lead, it appeared as though the hosts would cruise to victory.
However, the second half was a much different story as the Panthers scored seven goals on their first eight shots to get right back into the contest. After back-to-back goals just nine seconds apart just 1:25 into the second half, it was clear that Plymouth State would not go away quietly.
The teams combined for 17 goals in the second half and Springfield's seven-goal lead at the half dwindled down to two, 13-11, after Chiles buried a goal with just over nine minutes left. Moscardelli responded with an unassisted strike under a minute later to boost Springfield's lead back to four. A Jenn Zubkus goal provided the hosts with a four-goal cusion, only to have freshman Caitlin Swanson (Holderness, N.H.) and Judd find the back of the cage 48 seconds apart to make it a 15-13 game with 6:11 on the clock.
A pair of quick strikes down the stretch proved to be the difference for SC as Davis and Moscardelli each tacked on their fifth tallies of the game at the 3:38 and 3:21 mark as the hosts held on for the 17-13 win.
PSU opens Little East Conference play this Saturday with a visit to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for a 1:00 p.m. opening draw. Springfield plays a NEWMAC conference game Saturday at Wheaton (1:00 p.m.)
(Courtesy of Springfield Sports Information)
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