(box score)

Widener hung tough in the first half despite a slow start, but Springfield took over in the third quarter to hand the visitors a 7-1 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Springfield, MA.

Springfield (13-5), also nicknamed Pride, broke through the gates in the opening period for a 3-0 lead.  Kyle Louer tallied just three minutes into the game with Mike Delia and Joe Heney each scoring in the final 87 seconds.

Widener (10-10) dominated play in the second quarter with a 12-2 shots edge, but had just one goal to show for a 3-1 halftime deficit.  Junior Steve Cull (Havertown, PA) scored 4 1/2 minutes into the period off a feed from sophomore Mark Kane (Morton, PA).

But the home team grabbed the reins in the third quarter with three goals for a 6-1 lead.  Jarrid Johnson and Louer scored 52 seconds apart midway through the period and Joe Macchi added another with 33 seconds remaining.

Freshman Bobby Schluter (Kennett Square, PA) made 11 saves, including seven in the opening half to keep Widener in the game.

Delia had two assists and Kyle Gable scored in the fourth quarter for Springfield.  Marc Martinez closed with 18 saves.

In the first meeting between these schools, Widener was making its eighth trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 2008.  The Pride have two such victories to their credit, an 11-9 triumph at Kenyon in 2006 and an 8-5 win at Denison in 2007.

Widener was coming off winning its 12th Middle Atlantic Conference title and fifth in six years.  The sixth-seeded Pride became the lowest seed to win this tournament and the first to do so with three road wins.  They previously were the only team to win three games in the tournament, accomplishing this during the 2007 title campaign.