NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Connecticut College women's lacrosse cut a fourth quarter deficit to one goal, but were unable to complete the comeback, falling to visiting Bates College 12-9 on Saturday from Silfen Field. With the loss, Conn falls to 6-5 on the season and 2-5 in conference play, while Bates improves to 5-6 overall and 1-5 conference action.
Bates (5-6, 1-5 NESCAC) came out strong in the opening quarter, tallying the first three goals of the contest to build a 3-0 lead with 7:34 to play. Conn (6-5, 2-5 NESCAC) finally got on the board at 5:32 as Aine Downey (Brookline, Mass.) connected with Greta Panke (Milldale, Conn.) to make it 3-1. Just a minute and a half later, Downey was awarded a free-position shot, and converted to cut the lead to one after one.
Campbell Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.) tied the game five minutes into the second quarter, finding the back of the net on a free-position shot. The Camels took their first lead of the afternoon at 8:15 as Johnston and Downey hooked up to make it 4-3. The Bobcats replied however, scoring three straight goals to move back in front 6-4 with just under a minute left. A late free-position goal from Downey had the Camels trailing 6-5 at the break.
The Bobcats took control in the third quarter outsourcing the Camels 3-0 to lead 9-5 heading to the fourth. The final frame started slowly, until Kate Coughlin (Reading, Mass.) got Conn going at 9:16. Quickfire goals from Downey and Caroline Bruce (Acton, Mass.) made it a 9-8 game with seven and a half to play. Bates responded to the quick Conn run, pushing the lead back to three on back-to-back markers. Downey cut the deficit to two with 46 seconds left, but a late Bobcats goal gave Bates the 12-9 win.
Conn outshot Bates 35-28, while controlling 13 of 25 draws.
Viollette Nidds (Ridgewood, N.J.) got the start in net, finishing with 10 saves. Downey paced the Camels with six points on five goals and one assist, while Johnston recorded three points on one goal and two assists. Bruce, Coughlin, and Panke all added one goal.
Conn scooped up 24 ground balls, with Downey scooping up seven and Eliza Ritter (Glen Head, N.Y.) scooping up three. The Camels forced eight turnovers, with two caused by Caroline Barbieri (Longmeadow, Mass.) and Eliza Shamah (Acton, Mass.). Conn was 18-20 on clear attempts, while Downey controlled three draws.
Avery Lehman got the start in the cage, tallying 14 saves. Laci Revais, Caroline Taggart, and Lauren Wong led the Bobcats recording three points each.
Conn heads out on the road to take on Amherst College in a big NESCAC matchup on Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. in Amherst, Mass.
