Springfield, Mass - November 1, 2011 - Kelly Gallo scored two first half goals to power the fourth-seeded Springfield College field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over fifth-seeded WPI in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament Quarterfinal action Wednesday night at Stagg Field.
With the win, Springfield moves to 5-13 overall and advances to take on top-seeded MIT on Saturday morning at 11:00 am. WPI falls to to 11-7 with the loss.
All three of game's goals were scored in a 7:26 span in the first half of play. Springfield opened up the scoring at 16:27 mark after Megan McHugh carried the ball to the end line towards the cage before connecting on a centering pass to Kelly Gallo. The sophomore forward promptly slammed home her first tally of the game to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
WPI responded at the 23:26 mark as Sasha Marokhovsky took a driven ball and redirected it in front of a crowded goal mouth. Libbi Richardson flipped the loose ball past Springfield keeper Grace Bibber to tie the score at one apiece.
On the ensuing restart, the Pride scored a goal nearly identical to its first. Once again Gallo was all alone in front of the cage and took a pass from McHugh for the strike and what would prove to be the game-winner just 27 seconds after the Engineers marker.
Bibber salvaged the 2-1 advantage by stopping a penalty stroke midway through the second half. WPI's Danielle Antonellis bid was right at Bibber and the freshman made a smooth save to keep the Pride's one-goal lead.
Springfield owned a 19-7 advtange in shots and a 10-2 edge in corners. WPI's Liz Dufresne made five saves in goal, while Bibber notched three stops in the victory.
After eight years as head coach of the Pride, Melissa Sharpe, has continued the SC tradition of winning on the field hockey turf, posting an impressive 120-58 record, good for a winning percentage of .674 at the helm of her alma mater. Read more.