SPRINGFIELD, Mass., April 25, 2007 – Springfield College seniors Lisa Thomas (Whitman, Mass.) and Ashley Martell (Billerica, Mass.) each racked up four goals and one assist for five total points of offense as the fourth-seeded Pride defeated the No. 5 MIT Engineers, 16-11, this evening in the first round of the 2007 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Women’s Lacrosse Tournament at a rain-soaked Benedum Field.

SC moves on to face top-seeded Babson College in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon, April 28th, in a 12:00 p.m. start in Babson Park, Mass. In other semifinal action on Saturday, second-seeded Wellesley College will square off with No. 6 Smith College in a 2:30 p.m. start. With tonight’s victory, the Pride improves to 9-7 overall on the season, as the Engineers fall to 5-7.

MIT junior midfielder Laura Watson opened the scoring at the 2:35 mark with an unassisted tally to put the Engineers up, 1-0. Thomas and Martell then put SC on top with two consecutive scores, and after a goal from senior attack Mary Harding to tie the score at two-all, the Pride closed the opening stanza on a 6-0 run to take an 8-2 halftime lead.

SC senior attack Rachel Lampros (Boxborough, Mass.) added three goals to the winning cause, with junior midfielder Lindsay Bugbee (Granby, Conn.) contributing with two scores. Sophomore attack Heather Dobson (Longmeadow, Mass.) and freshman attack Jennifer Zubkus (Dover, N.H.) each added one goal and one assist.

The Engineers were led by Harding with a game-high five goals. Watson chipped in with three scores of her own, and first-year midfielder Julia Roberts added two assists. MIT senior goalkeeper Hee Jay Kang made eight saves in 60 minutes of play this evening.

published: 04/25/2007