Boxscore
BRUNSWICK, MAINE - In a battle for third-place
in the NESCAC, Williams men's lacrosse lost to Bowdoin in
Brunswick this afternoon, 12-5. The Ephs, who fell to 5-8 overall
on the season, now stand tied with Amherst, Middlebury and Colby
for fourth in the NESCAC at 4-4. Bowdoin climbed to 8-5 overall and
into sole possession of third place with a 5-3 record.
The Polar Bears outshot the Ephs 36-26 on the game, as Eph
senior goalie Stephen Vrla and junior backup Henry Mills combined
to stop 10 of Bowdoin's 22 shots on goal; Vrla started the
game and played the first three quarters in spite of a broken
thumb, while Mills stepped in his place in the fourth. Bowdoin also
beat out the Ephs to 37 ground balls, while Williams only mustered
26. Senior Brian Wrapp led the Eph attack with 2 of the
team's 5 goals, while Polar Bear Ben Bergner slotted the ball
past Vrla 3 times to lead the home team. Junior Corey Jacobs proved
a bright-spot for the Ephs in the game in the midfield, winning 12
of 21 face offs on the game.
Bowdoin jumped on Williams early in the game, holding the Ephs
scoreless in the first half while finding the net 7 times on the
Polar Bears' home field. The Polar Bears started scoring only
2:43 into the game on shot from Justin Starr and did not let up,
finding a way through the Eph defense for 19 first-half shots while
holding the Ephs to only 8 attempts at the net. Bowdoin scored 4 of
its goals in the first 15 minutes, and their momentum wasn't
broken by the break between quarters, as Steven Thomas found a way
past Vrla two times in the second 15 and Adam Tracy added another
to lead the Polar Bears into the break with a 7-0 lead.
The second half saw much more even play. The Ephs finally
penetrated the Bowdoin defense when senior attacker Michael Grover
received a pass from Mike Ryan and scored 2:27 into the half on a
man-up opportunity. Bowdoin scored slightly more than one minute
later to make the score 8-1 before the Ephs mustered four more
second-half goals – including Sam Hargrove's 18 of the
season, a team high. However, Bowdoin was able to counter each
time, and the game ended in the Polar Bears' 12-5 victory.
Williams will take on Middlebury, which fell to Tufts this
afternoon 10-5, at home next Friday at 6 p.m. in a game that will
play a large role in determining the seeding for the conference
tournament. A loss puts the Ephs in jeopardy of falling out of the
post-season tournament, while a victory guarantees the team at
least the fifth seed in the tournament. With a victory and an
Amherst loss, Williams will secure the fourth seed and a game at
home for the quarterfinals.
