SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –

Searching for their first conference victory, Coast Guard fought back valiantly late, but were unable to overtake the surging Springfield Pride who have now won three straight. The Pride(4-6, 3-1 NEWMAC) have a big road test this weekend when they travel to #11 MIT on Saturday for a 1:00 PM game vs the Engineers.

Early in the half in which offense was hard to come by, it was the Bears who had the first chance when Mia Forti(Madison, CT) sent a shot on goal just three minutes into action, forcing Pride keeper Mallory Forgatch(Palm Beach Gardens, FL) to make her first save.

Seven minutes into action, the Pride sent their first shot towards the goal but freshman defender Bianca McIntosh(Woodbridge, VA) was in the perfect spot to block the shot that seemed destined for the goal. Just 30 seconds later however, Springfield could find the back of the net when Meredith Healy(Niantic, CT) placed a perfect ball into the upper right corner of the Coast Guard goal.

That 1-0 Springfield lead would hold into the half, with each team putting two more on goal a piece but none resulting in a score. For the Bears, it was senior midfielder Arwen Wise(Weatherford, TX) who had both shots on goal.

Coming out of the half, Springfield dominated the time of possession and tested the Bears defense right away but the quick reflexes of keeper Julia Little(Pensacola, FL) kept the score at 0-1 when she snared a point blank deflection off the foot of a Springfield forward. Little was tested again with 27 minutes remaining when she punched a dangerous ball out of the air to halt the Pride attack. 

With 22 to go, Springfield took a potentially crushing 2-0 lead when senior Meredith Healy again struck gold with her right foot. Healy, a native of Niantic and graduate of East Lyme High School has been a thorn in the side of Coast Guard her entire career, having now scored in each of her last three games vs her hometown Bears.

After Springfield's second goal, the CGA offense was awoken and it took the Bears under a minute to punch back. After Bianca McIntosh sent a ball on goal, senior captain Mia Forti was there for the rebound, booting the ball past the Pride keeper for her first goal of the season.

Having already scored twice in the game, Healy came a fingertip away from a hat trick but Julia Little made her 5th save of the day to keep the Bears afloat, barely getting a piece of the shot to tip it over the crossbar. The five saves for Little ties her season high, a mark she has hit twice previously this year.

With under three to go, in a last effort for CGA, the strong leg of Anabelle Pezzullo(Ashaway, RI) sent a free kick towards the goal but the Springfield defensive front was able to stop the shot and regain possession. 30 seconds later, Healy again came within inches of a hat trick but this time it trickled just wide of the Bear goal before Springfield played keepaway from the Bears for the final two minutes to hold on to the 2-1 win. 

On the attack, the teams were about as even as could be, with Springfield tallying just one more shot(12-11) and each team putting seven shots on goal. 

For the Bears, the loss drops them to 1-9-2(0-4 NEWMAC). They will come back home on Saturday for a 1:00 PM game vs Emerson College. The game on Saturday is the annual "Pink Game" at Coast Guard in support of breast cancer awareness.