SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Oct. 20, 2012) – Senior forward Meg McHugh scored just 50 seconds into overtime to lift Springfield College to a 3-2 overtime victory against Mount Holyoke College in NEWMAC field hockey action on Saturday. With the win, the Pride move to 7-8 on the season and are now 5-2 in conference play. The Lyons slip to 6-8 overall and are now 2-5 in the NEWMAC.
Trailing 2-0 after the first period of play, Mount Holyoke made it an exciting finish as sophomore midfielder Kirsten Kilburn (North Branford, Conn./North Branford) tallied back-to-back goals in the final two minutes of regulation to send the game to overtime.
Kilburn slipped around a defender deep in the circle and sent a shot just under the goaltender to make it a 2-1 game at 68:46. The goal was set up by a nice back pass from senior Angelica Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (NH), who had sent the ball in on a corner a few moments before.
The Lyons then tied the game at 2-all as Kilburn battled deep in the zone, firing a shot on net that was saved by defender MK Murray (Killingworth, Conn./Haddam-Killingworth). The ball came loose to Kilburn, who reacted quickly for the shot into the open net with no time on the clock.
In overtime, the Pride gained control quickly and shifted action into their own end. McHugh (Greenfield, Mass./Greenfield) navigated into the zone and sent a shot in from five-yards out that slipped past the reach of Mount Holyoke netminder Anne O'Byrne (Newbury, N.H./Proctor Academy) for the game-winner.
The Pride opened the game's scoring at 7:18 of the first period as McHugh connected off a pass from junior Kelly Gallo (Westfield, Mass./Westfield) into the left corner. Springfield then made it a 2-0 game at 29:05 as first year Libby Hart (Chatham, Mass./Nauset) buried a feed from senior Jenn Califano (Suffern, N.Y./Suffern) past O'Byrne.
For the game, the Lyons held the advantage in shots, 19-17, while it was an even draw in penalty corners with 11 apiece. In goal, Springfield first year Timarie Villa (Mashpee, Mass./Mashpee) posted 12 saves in victory, while O'Byrne made nine stops in the loss.
Additionally, the Lyons, which were honored to have Mount Holyoke President Lynn Pasquerella serve as a guest assistant coach for today's contest, recognized its three seniors Angelica Pascual, Anne O'Byrne and Stephanie Pascual (Lawrence, Mass./Proctor Academy (NH) for their hard work and dedication to the squad over the last four years during a pre-game ceremony. The Lyons also recognized the seniors from Springfield, including Liz Hurley (Holden, Mass./Notre Dame Academy), McHugh, Califano and Kayla Sokol (West Brookfield, Mass./Quaboag).
The Lyons, who are currently tied with Smith for the sixth and final playoff spot in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament, are back on the field on Tuesday in a 7pm, non-conference game at Westfield State. The Pride, who are fourth in the conference standings and have secured a berth in the tournament, head to Salem State on Thursday for a 6pm, non-league contest.
