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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass- Nick Fersen recorded the game-winning score
with just two seconds remaining in the overtime to push the
Williams College men's lacrosse team past Bowdoin 8-7 in their
regular season finale Saturday. The win secured the Ephs a place in
the NESCAC tournament where No. 6 Williams will face No. 3 Tufts
Sunday April 26th at 3:00 PM.
Fersen's dramatic score was the exclamation point on a back and
forth game that witnessed six lead changes, and already boasted a
late Eph goal from Richard Reuter with only sixteen seconds left in
regulation to force the overtime.
The win marks the third straight victory for the Ephs and their
second consecutive NESCAC win, while Bowdoin's defeat signals their
first loss to a team not ranked in the D3 top 20 rankings.
The Eph attack was led by Mike Vrla, who notched three goals and
two assists. Vrla was able to step up despite a swarming Bowdoin
defense focused on limiting the Ephs primary offensive threat,
David Hawley.
Last weeks NESCAC player of the week, Michael Gerbush, continued
to accelerate his game and anchor the defense as he recorded 13
saves - including several in the games final minutes.
Vrla kicked things off for the Ephs only 3:33 into the first
period, but the Polar Bears evened it back up less than two minutes
later off of a goal from Owen Smith, as the two teams played to a
virtual stalemate after one period.
Bowdoin begin to impose its will on the Ephs in the early goings
of the second period and took a 3-1 lead with 7:59 remaining in the
half. The Polar Bears dominated statistical in the 2nd,
recording an 8-5 shot advantage while earning a decisive 12-5 tally
on groundballs.
The two teams would trade goals in the opening six minutes of
the second half, but two consecutive goals from Vrla gave the Ephs
their first lead since the initial score of the game. Bowdoin
refuses to roll over, and tied things back up before the period was
through.
Bowdoin would carry that momentum into the final stanza as they
once again took the lead with just 9:47 remaining, but Reuter's
first goal pulled the Ephs back to even only 32 seconds later. The
last ten minutes of the contest saw some of the most frantic and
gutsy play as both teams tried to break the stalemate.
It was the Ephs who ultimately blinked first, as Adam Tracy put
Bowdoin back on top with only 1:01 remaining in the contest -
setting the stage for Reuter and Fersen's late game heroics.
The overtime period became increasingly tense, with every
possession being hotly contested. The Ephs regained possession with
just twelve seconds remaining and rapidly advanced before Brian
Morrissey found the Fersen for the game-winner.
"We have been playing excellent lacrosse, and we continued to
play that way today." remarked Eph Coach George McCormack. "Just
another great team win."
