SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Senior Emily Biggs (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) scored the game-winner in double overtime to lift the Smith College field hockey team to a 2-1 victory over Springfield College in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship Semifinals on Thursday night at Stagg Field.

Smith, the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament, improved to 13-7 and reached the NEWMAC Championship for the first time since 1998.  The Pioneers will serve as the host for Saturday's championship, which will take place at 1:00 verus fifth-seeded MIT. The Pride, which entered the championship as the No. 2 seed, had its season come to a close with a 12-6 record. 

After a stellar defensive first half for both sides, in which there were only eight shots taken collectively, Kyra Ashe accounted for the game's first goal at the 56:42 mark when she slipped home a goal on just Springfield's second shot of the game..

Following a green card on Springfield, Smith was able to find the back of the net to knot it up at one a piece with 5:14 remaining in regulation after junior Neva Richardson (Rehoboth Beach, Del./St. Andrew's School) was able to sneak her bid over the goal line. Emmalie Drake continued to come up big for the Pride down the stretch, including a pair of diving stops to preserve the tie, and force overtime.  

Springfield nearly won the game in the waning seconds of in the first overtime, but it was determined that Amanda Nusbaum's bid from outside the circle was deflected into the goal by a defender, not a Springfield offensive player.  In the second extra session, Biggs carried the ball down the right sideline before beating her defender to the inside to cut across the goal mouth.  After her initial attempt was snuffed out by a sprawling Drake, Biggs collected the loose ball and flipped it into the top shelf for the game-winner strike at the 84:43 mark. 

NOTABLE

• The Pioneers are 4-0 in overtime games this season. 
• Biggs and Richardson each scored their second goals of the season. 
• Smith goalkeeper Channy Cornell (Arlington, Tex./The Oakridge School) made two saves to improve to 13-7 on the season.
• The Pioneers held a commanding 29-3 advantage in shots while take 14 of the game's 17 penalty corners.
• Smith has now won four of the last five meetings against the Pride and moves to 5-28-1 in the all-time series.

UP NEXT
Smith will host the No. 5 seed MIT Engineers on Saturday in the NEWMAC Championship game at 1:00 p.m.

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is an NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.