NEW LONDON, Conn. – Leading 4-2 at halftime, the Connecticut College women's lacrosse team outscored visiting Bowdoin 11-4 in the second half to earn the 15-6 win on Saturday from Silfen Field. Conn improves to 3-2 on the year and 1-2 in NESCAC play, while Bowdoin falls to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in conference action.
The game started slowly, as both goalies looked sharp early. Ava Virga (Watertown, N.Y.) stopped an early free-position shot along with a shot in open play to keep the game scoreless. Conn opened the scoring at 9:50 as Elizabeth Gill (Hingham, Mass.) hit Caroline Bruce (Acton, Mass.) who fired home to make it 1-0. Just over a minute later, the Camels doubled the advantage as Kate Coughlin (Reading, Mass.) found the back of the net. With time winding down in the opening quarter, Coughlin notched her second of the game, as the Camels led 3-0 after one.
Both defenses dominated the opening 10 minutes of the second quarter, as neither side was able to generate much offensively. However, at 3:59, Bowdoin got on the board thanks to a tally from Grace Harvey. A minute and a half later, Aine Downey (Brookline, Mass.) connected for Conn to push the lead back to three. Lauren Burke added a goal for the Polar Bears in the final minute, as the Camels led 4-2 at the break.
Conn dominated the third quarter, scoring four times in the first four and a half minutes to push the lead to 8-2. Campbell Johnston (Duxbury, Mass.) set up the first two goals, hitting Gill and then Emma Ognibene (New Canaan, Conn.) making it 6-2. Coughlin then scored on back-to-back free-position shots extending the lead to 8-2. Bowdoin ended the run at 5:41, but Coughlin's third free-position goal of the period, had the Camels in front 9-3 heading to the fourth.
The Polar Bears opened the final frame with an early goal from Molly Reed to trim the lead to 9-4. However, Conn answered with a 5-0 run, with tallies coming from four different goal scorers. Ognibene kicked off the run at 10:29, before Johnston found Bruce at 9:23. Gill then hit a streaking Greta Panke (Milldale, Conn.) before Panke found Coughlin at 7:04. Bruce finished off the run at 6:18, firing home off an assist from Gill. Bowdoin answered with two straight goals, but in the dying seconds Panke hit Gill in front for the Camels final tally, as Conn earned the 15-6 win.
Conn outshot Bowdoin 29-19, while controlling 16 of 24 draws.4
Virga picked up the win in the cage, finishing with nine saves. Coughlin paced the Camels with six goals, while Gill added five points on two goals and three assists. Johnston chipped in three assists, Bruce added three goals, and Panke recorded one goal and two assists. Rounding off the scoring for Conn was Ognibene with two goals and Downey chipping in one. Defensively, Conn forced 13 turnovers, with Sydney Weber (Hanover, Mass.) forcing a team-high four, while Casey Chesner (Great Falls, Va.) and Eliza Shamah (Acton, Mass.) both forced three. Weber tallied a season-best nine draw controls, while both she and Chesner each scooped up five ground balls.
Hannah Rubin got the start in goal, tallying nine saves. Miya Imaeda paced Bowdoin with three points on one goal and two assists, while Lauren Burke was the other Polar Bear to record multiple points, notching two goals.
Conn returns to action on Monday morning as the Camels head south to Hilton Head, S.C. to take on Eastern Connecticut at 10:00 a.m.
