Springfield Obliterates Mount Ida, 21-4
from press releases
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Behind a record-setting
performance by Jake Beebe, the Springfield College men's lacrosse
team throttled visiting Mount Ida, 21-4, in an NCAA Division III
Men's Lacrosse Tournament First Round Game on Wednesday
evening.
The story of the game was Beebe, as the senior attackman broke an
18-year old NCAA Tournament record for points in a game. In
tonight's game, Beebe poured in seven goals and five assists for a
record-breaking total of 12 points. The previous mark was held by
Rich Franz of Ohio Wesleyan, who tallied 11 points in 1991 for Ohio
Wesleyan in a win over Washington & Lee. Beebe had flirted with
Franz's record last season in the first round when he registered 10
points in a 17-2 win over Kean University.
"It's awesome. I'm very pleased. But I'm even more pleased with how
we played tonight," said Beebe. "It seemed like we had seven goals
before the blink of an eye. It seemed like we had the ball the
entire first quarter, and were able to be in total control. We've
had a great year, winning the Pilgrim League, going on to the NCAA
Tournament, and now winning an NCAA First-Round game. I hope we can
keep it going now at Cortland on Saturday."
With the victory, the Pride advance to the second round and will
travel to Cortland for a game on Saturday. Springfield and Cortland
matched up in the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament, with
the Red Dragons prevailing, 12-9.
The Pride now stand at 12-6 on the year, while the Mustangs' season
comes to a close with a 13-7 record.
Springfield dominated nearly every statistical category -- as it
outshot the visitors, 72-34; winning the ground ball battle, 55-28;
winning 18-of-27 face-offs, and going 21-for-23 on clear attempts.
The goals came fast and furious for the Pride in the opening stanza
as it netted seven goals in a 7:04 span to take complete
control.
"I think we came out too nervous in the first quarter. I kept on
telling them to relax, but easier said than done," said Mount Ida
head coach Andrew Fink. "It was a case of trying to catch the big
guy sleeping, but it just didn't happen tonight. We tried
everything, every option we had in the book. We used three goalies,
but we couldn't get it going. We've been in the NCAA's three years
in a row, but now we have to figure out a way to get back here and
do better. I was pleased with our effort. Springfield is a good
team. I would not be surprised if they gave Cortland a good
battle."
Joe Heney opened up the scoring 2:15 into the contest after he took
a feed from Beebe and blasted a shot into the lower corner of the
cage. Almost one minute later, Joe Macchi dodged to his right and
fired an unassisted strike for SC's second goal. Beebe and Kyle
Gable each found the back of the net, before an unusual goal forced
a Mount Ida timeout. Springfield longstick midfielder Pete Sessa
took a feed from fellow longpole, John Ferrell, turned, jumped, and
fired a shot past Mustang goalie Justin Famiglietti to make it a
5-0 contest. Unassisted markers from Pilgrim League Rookie of the
Year Mike Delia and Shawn Runyon gave the hosts a 7-0 advantage
after one quarter of play.
"I hope we were able to gain some confidence tonight against Mount
Ida. Now we have Cortland to look forward to," said Springfield
head coach Keith Bugbee. "They are a really good team, and we'll
need to play very well to be in it. It's certainly a great
environment to play in and be a part of."
Springfield poured in another seven goals in the second half as it
scored the first 14 goals of the game. Beebe and Cavanaugh both
fired home a pair of goals in the second quarter to pace the
Springfield attack. Mount Ida finally scored its only goal of the
first half with 35 seconds remaining. Derek Broughton took a feed
from Kevin Mulvey in transition and netted the Mustangs first goal
of the game.
The Pride pumped in the first five goals of the second half as it
extended its lead to 18 goals. A pair of Paul Battipaglia goals
sandwiched a Beebe man-up goal to close out the third quarter
scoring.
Beebe tied the record with a goal after a terrific move as he split
two defenders for his seventh goal of the game with 10:04 left in
the contest. He then broke the record as he delivered a perfect
pass to Gable for his fifth assist of the game just 12 seconds
later. A man-up goal from Matthew Savage gave the Mustangs their
fourth goal of the game and proved the be the final goal of the
game.
Mount Ida used three goalies in the game, with James McAllister
proving to have the best performance. Playing the entire second
half, he posted 15 saves, including several terrific stops. The
game got chippy down the stretch as there were six penalties in the
fourth quarter. The two teams combined for 20 penalties in the
game, including 13 coming from the Pride.
The Pride's defense simply blanketed one of the top offensive teams
in the country. Mount Ida entered the game ranked second in the
country in goals per game with just under 18. Shadowed by Sam
Burrell throughout the game, Mount Ida's Brett Conley only had one
point. Conley entered the game ranked sixth in the entire country
in points per game with 4.89 per contest.
Tom Albano continued his sensational year as he recorded 12 saves
in just over 45 minutes between the pipes, allowing just three
goals. Matt Cipolla came in for the final 14-plus minutes and made
five stops while allowing one goal. Burrell continued to shut down
opponents as he caused four turnovers in the game to go along with
four ground balls. Chris Jez went 14-for-21 from the "X" and added
10 ground balls in the victory. Jason Farrell added seven ground
balls of his own for SC.
