WILLIAMSTOIWN, MASS. --The Williams women's lacrosse team (3–1, 1-1 NESCAC) picked up their third consecutive win of the season defeating Colby (0–3, 0-2 NESCAC) 10-8. Colby, a strong team, is ranked seventh nationally. Colby took a two-goal lead on the Ephs in the third quarter, but four fourth quarter goals by the Ephs delivered the victory. The Ephs played with a lot of heart throughout to collect the 10-8 win.
The Ephs started the first quarter off strong with a free position shot high over the Mules goalie Sarah Hearns' shoulder from junior
Abby Godwin, giving Williams a 1-0 lead at 13:35. Less than three minutes later, junior
Christina Halloran put the Ephs up 2-0 with an unassisted goal. After two saves by Williams goalie senior
Caitlyn Joyce and four saves by Colby's Sarah Hearns, the Mules' Gianna Bruno scored on a free position shot. The Ephs led 2-1 after the first quarter.
The second quarter was truly a back-and-forth. At 13:09 the Mules' Annie Eddy scored a goal assisted by Gianna Bruno and tied the game at 2. The Ephs got back on top with an unassisted goal by first-year
Franny Donohue at 12:39, but the Mules tied it up again at 11:28 when Ally Franz scored off an assist from Gianna Bruno.
In an exhilarating 30-second play, the Ephs fired two shots off the post back-to-back, with
Franny Donohue finally finding the net and scoring and Williams led 4-3. Tying it up again, Colby's Ally Franz scored at 5:47.
Eph first year
Meaghan Day showed her strength by consistently winning draw controls. After taking seven shots each in the second quarter, Williams and Colby went into halftime tied at 4-4.
The Ephs fell behind for the first time at 13:35 in the third quarter when the Mules' Ainsley Dion scored, putting Colby on top 5-4. Sophomore
Caroline Pratt defended the net for the Ephs starting in the third quarter, saving a shot by Colby at 11:39 as the Mules fell short on their attempt to establish their first 2-goal lead. The Mules eventually successfully gained a 6-4 lead over the Ephs when Ally Franz scored a goal assisted by Ainsley Dion at 8:37.
Colby's defense had a strong showing in the third quarter, allowing no goals by the Ephs for the first 12 minutes — but at 2:10, first year
Lauren Morganlander scored assisted by
Christina Halloran to make the scored 6-5. The Ephs then fell two goal behind at 1:26 when Julia Jardina scored for the Mules and Annie Eddy scored on a free position shot with 23 seconds left in the quarter, boosting the Colby lead to 8-5.
Though the Mules took the lead in the third quarter, the fourth quarter belonged to the Ephs.
Lauren Morganlander started off the final quarter scoring at 13:38, cutting Colby's lead to 8-6. She attempted to score again at 11:28 but went over the net. Just a few seconds later, at 11:03,
Grace Collier put the Ephs one behind Colby with a successful free position shot, 8-7. Just when it looked like the Mules would score again,
Caroline Pratt showed off her skills by making a save.
With 9:04 left, the Ephs'
Elsa Dean-Muncie shot the ball from the right side and scored, tying up the game at 8-8. Shorlty after the Dean-Muncie tally, Eph goalie
Caroline Pratt made another impressive save, denying a free position opportunity by Colby's Gianna Bruno. At 5:38, the Ephs pulled ahead when
Christina Halloran scored a goal assisted by
Lauren Morganlander, giving Williams the lead at 9-8.
With only 2:50 left in the game, the Ephs increased their lead with an unassisted goal by
Grace Collier, highlighting team's ability to play hard until the very end. Just 25 seconds later,
Caroline Pratt kept up the momentum by saving a shot from Colby's Annie Eddy and Williams took the 10-8 win.
Mules goalie Sarah Hearns allowed 10 goals and made 7 saves on the day. In the first half Eph goalie
Caitlyn Joyce allowed 4 goals and made 2 saves, while
Caroline Pratt in the second half made 6 saves and allowed 4 goals.
"I first want to tip my hat off to Colby. They are a very strong team. They're number seven in the country for a reason. Coming into today, we knew it was going to be a competitive game, and we believed in our team and every single person on the team," said Williams head coach
Alice Lee.
"What was really beautiful about this game was that different people stepped up in different ways," Lee continued. "We just played with so much heart, and that's what makes me really proud of this team."
Next up for the Ephs is a NESCAC contest versus Bowdoin March 18 at noon in Brunswick, Maine.
