THE BASICS:
 
- Score: Springfield College 16, MIT 14
 
- Records: MIT (6-2, 1-1 NEWMAC); Springfield (3-5, 1-1 NEWMAC)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
 
- The Lead: Springfield College rattled off five unanswered goals spanning the last six minutes of the third quarter and the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to build a lead it would not relinquish as it held on to defeat MIT, 16-14, in NEWMAC men's lacrosse action on Saturday. Sophomore Nick Stiles (New Canaan, Conn.) paced the Engineers with four goals and four assists. For the Pride, Riley Burgmyer and Conor Tracy both recorded five points with Burgmyer posting three goals and two assists while Tracy generated five goals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- Springfield opened the game with five straight goals, capped by back-to-back strikes from Kevin Tierney 25 seconds apart midway through the quarter. Graduate student Ryan Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) put MIT on the board with a man-up goal at the 4:14 mark, but Tracy connected on a feed from Burgmyer almost three minutes later to make the score 6-1. The Engineers responded with Stiles scoring on a pass from first year Bryce Metalios (Riverside, Conn.) with just under a minute left.
 
- MIT carried the momentum into the second stanza as it outscored the Pride, 8-1, and established a 10-7 lead at halftime. Stiles was a factor in four of the goals as his back-to-back blasts put the Engineers in front, 8-7, with 4:49 on the clock. Senior Tory Lentine (Flemington, N.J.) registered a man-up goal and two assists while first year Zach Bleil (New Canaan, Conn.) scored twice, including a man-up marker, as Metalios provided the first and last goals of the frame.
 
- Springfield ended its scoring drought moments after the opening faceoff in the third quarter when Tierney redirected a feed from Vincent Scialdone. The Pride then cut its deficit in half (10-9) courtesy of a solo effort by Mascon Nocito with 13:43 on the clock. MIT increased its cushion when Stiles set up sophomore Patrick Timons (Woodside, Calif.) for his first goal of the season, however, Burgmyer replied with one of his own at the 9:48 mark. Sophomore Matthew Sardis (Bernardsville, N.J.) won the ensuing faceoff and immediately found Stiles whose goal moved the score to 12-10. A defensive battle ensued until Tierney scored with 5:55 remaining and then Tracy and Matthew Webb both found the back of the net, putting Springfield ahead for good.
 
- The visitors' lead grew to 15-12 after 4:18 elapsed in the fourth quarter courtesy of goals by Nocito and Tracy. The score remained unchanged until Metalios connected on a pass from Stiles with 3:03 left to play. Seven seconds later, Sardis won the faceoff and earned an assist on a blast by Metalios.
 
- Springfield won the faceoff but its resulting shot was wide. MIT was awarded possession and saw Bleil's shot with 1:28 left go wide. Connor Roberts forced a turnover for the Pride and it eventually led to a Springfield timeout with 34 seconds to go. Immediately after action resumed, Tracy launched a shot from almost 20 yards away into an open net to secure the win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Metalios finished with four goals, one assist, and four groundballs while Lentine posted one goal and two assists. Sardis won 19 of his 34 faceoff attempts and collected 13 groundballs as senior Chris Perrino (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.), Gebhardt, and first year Braedon Rudolph (Denver, Colo.) each had two caused turnovers. In net, senior Davin McCabe (New Castle, N.H.) made nine saves.
 
- Tierney registered four goals as Gavin Carzello collected seven groundballs and three caused turnovers. Roberts notched four groundballs and three caused turnovers while Jackson Lane had five groundballs. Steven Betsch went 11-of-25 on the faceoff "x" and contributed five groundballs. In net, Jack Hamilton made seven saves in the first half while Dean Pesce closed out the game with four saves.
 
- With his goal in the first quarter, Gebhardt broke the NCAA Division III record for career points. His tally of 452 surpasses the mark of 451 which was set by Jason Coffman of Salisbury University in 1996. Gebhardt currently ranks second all-time across all NCAA divisions in career points as he trails Jared Nelson of Pfeiffer University, who established the record of 453 in 2021.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- Both teams visit non-conference opponents next week. MIT travels to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy on Wednesday, March 29 for a 7:00 p.m. game. Springfield, meanwhile, visits No. 11 Middlebury College on Tuesday, March 28 at 4:00 p.m.
 
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