Lewis Penalty Stroke Wins it for Wellesley; Field Hockey Downs Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Senior Emily Lewis connected on a penalty stroke 11 minutes into the second half to provide the winning margin as the Wellesley College field hockey posted a 2-1 victory over Springfield College on the road in a NEWMAC contest at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field. The contest marked the NEWMAC regular season finale for both teams.

The win sealed the third seed in the upcoming NEWMAC tournament for Wellesley (11-7, 6-2 NEWMAC), while the loss hands Springfield (8-9, 5-3 NEWMAC) the fourth seed.

Springfield took the early lead as senior Kayla Sokol scored the game's first goal just 6:58 into the contest. Her shot was assisted by junior MK Murray, giving the Pride a 1-0 edge.

Wellesley tied the game just under 20 minutes later, as first-year Anissa Sridhar knocked in the equalizer following a scramble in front of the cage. Sophomore midfielder Meghan Peterson was credited with the assist on the play.

Springfield had a chance to go ahead in the final two minutes of the first half, but a shot from Murray was saved by Wellesley keeper Brit Mscisz, to send the game into the break at 1-1.

The 1-1 score held until 11:02 into the second half when Lewis tallied what proved to be the decisive goal. Each team had its opportunities to tack on to the score, but neither could take advantage, sealing the 2-1 win for Wellesley.

Mscicz finished with two saves for the Blue, who were outshot 8-2.

As a result of today's action throughout the league, Babson, with its 8-0 conference mark, will host the semifinals and final of the NEWMAC Tournament. #2 MIT (7-1) will also receive a first-round bye.

Two quarterfinal games are scheduled for Tuesday, including #6 Mount Holyoke (2-6) at #3 Wellesley (6-2) and #5 Clark (4-4) at #4 Springfield (5-3).