Golden Bears Fall Victim to Late Rally in 5-3 Loss to Springfield

DeLima scores fifth goal of the season, Trupe makes 13 saves

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 22, 2016) – The Springfield College field hockey team scored three goals over the final 7:18 of regulation to earn a 5-3 victory over Western New England University this afternoon in non-conference action at Stagg Field.

Top Performers
• Junior forward Michelle Carlson (Hackettstown, N.J.) gave Western New England a 3-2 lead with her second goal of the season at the 51:04 mark of the second half. Carlson led the Golden Bear offense with four shots on goal.
• Junior goalkeeper Grace Trupe (Cardiff, Calif.) matched her season-high with 13 saves.

• Springfield freshman forward Taylor Conley (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) factored into four of the Pride's five goals, scoring two herself and assisting on two others. Conley led the home team's comeback effort, scoring the equalizer in the 63^rd minute and the go-ahead goal just over four minutes later.
• Classmate Belle Copponi (Dover, Mass.) also turned in a multi-point effort with two goals and one assist.

Game Review
• Copponi opened the scoring just 2:27 into the contest with the help of assists from Conley and sophomore midfielder Amanda Nusbaum (Conway, N.H.). Nusbaum was credited with assists on three of Springfield's goals.
• Western New England evened the score at the 19:38 mark on junior forward Brittany DeLima's (Branchville, N.J.) fifth goal of the season, but the Pride led 2-1 at the half after Copponi tallied her second of the game with 3:40 left in the opening period.

• The Golden Bears tied the score for the second time 9:17 into the second half on freshman Jessica Clifford's (Auburn, Mass.) unassisted goal, before pulling ahead with 18:56 remaining when Carlson scored on a feed from freshman Jacqueline Clark (Auburn, Mass.).
• Western New England still led 3-2 with ten minutes left in the game, but Conley netted the equalizer at the 62:42 mark before scoring the go-ahead goal with 3:16 remaining. Junior forward Maggie Kennedy (Clay, N.Y.) added an insurance tally in the closing seconds to extend the final margin to 5-3.

Notes
• Springfield outshot the Golden Bears 24-18 and also held an 11-6 advantage in penalty corners.
• Trupe's made 13 saves for the third time this season.
• DeLima's five goals are good for second on the team, while Carlson and Clifford are tied for third with two each.  

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (3-4) returns home to take on Nichols at 6 p.m., while Springfield plays host to Babson at 5 p.m.