Brunswick, Maine – The Williams women's lacrosse team (4–1, NESCAC 2–1) faced off against the Bowdoin Polar Bears (2–3, NESCAC 1–2) today in an eventful game. Though the first half belonged to the Polar Bears, the Ephs made an impressive comeback in the third quarter with an 8-goal run to take an 11-10 lead. The Polar Bears came back to tie the game at 11-11 with only 3:05 left in the final quarter. The game, which went into overtime, ended with a walk-off goal from the Ephs'
Elsa Dean-Muncie, securing the Ephs' fourth consecutive win.
At the start, Bowdoin's Emelia Krakora faced off against the Ephs' Claudia Russell '25, who won the draw control, setting the team up for its first goal at 13:40 by Katy McCullough '26, who found the back of the cage, assisted by Elsa Dean-Muncie '25. Though the Ephs were off to a great start, the Polar Bears quickly made it known that they were there to win. At 11:21, Bowdoin tied up the game at 1-1 when Sophia Sudano scored, placing a shot past Eph goalie Caitlyn Joyce '23.
The Polar Bears pulled ahead at 11:15 with a successful free position shot by Lauren Burke, and Sophia Sudano followed suit, scoring again for for Bowdoin on a free position shot at 8:13, giving thehome team a 3-1 lead. At 8:01 Bowdoin subbed in Charlotte Howie, who quickly proved her strength with an unassisted goal just one minute later, putting Bowdoin up 4-1. Sophia Sudano scored her third goal for the Polar Bears, lifting Bowdoin to a 5-1 advantage with 4:05 left in the first quarter, and Sudano was two for two on free position attempts.
But the first quarter wasn't over yet — Meaghan Day '26 blocked the Polar Bears from scoring, pulling the Ephs' defense out of the hole. Shortly after, Grace Collier '25 scored an unassisted goal. With less than two minutes left in the quarter, Bowdoin's Colleen McAloon scored an unassisted goal and Bowdoin led 6-2. Sophia Sudano kept up the Polar Bears' streak by scoring yet again, boosting Bowdoin to a 7-2 lead, and giving Sudano an impressive 4 goals in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Caroline Pratt '25 defended the cage for the Ephs. Claudia Russell had a free position opportunity but bounced the ball off the crossbar; Bowdoin's Izzy Cisneros saved another free position attempt from Elsa Dean-Muncie less than a minute later. The Polar Bears had possession of the ball and began moving it across the field but Molly Hellman '24 quickly put an end to Bowdoin's possession, showing her defensive skills.
Bowdoin's Fiona Bundy scored at 7:57 in the second quarter and Bowdoin was up six, 8-2. Bowdoin goalie Izzy Cisneros saved yet another shot by the Ephs, putting her at 5 saves the second period. The Polar Bears' Annie Moore scored her first NESCAC career goal at 4:25, and Bowdoin extended their lead to 7 goals, 9-2.
Though things were looking tough for the Ephs toward the end of the second quarter, Franny Donohue '26 raised the team's spirits when she netted a goal at 4:25. Izzy Cisneros saved two more shots by Christina Halloran '24. Bowdoin tooka 9-3 lead into the halftime break.
The Ephs began the third quarter in a woman-up situation, putting pressure on the Polar Bears and keeping up their strength throughout the quarter. Eph goalie Caroline Pratt denied a free position opportunity from Bowdoin, stopping a sidewinder from Peyton Mulhern from going in the net. The Ephs' Franny Donohue kept up the heat, scoring with a free position goal at 12:19. Elsa Dean-Muncie continued Williams' strong start to the second half with an unassisted goal at 10:41 and the EPhsnow trailed by four, 9-5.
Lauren Morganlander scored the Ephs' third straight goal with an unassisted tally at 7:54. Franny Donohue turned the streak into a 4-goal run with an impressive goal giving her a hat trick, and the bowdoin lead was down to 2, 9-7.
With six minutes to go in the third quarter, Izzy Cisneros, who had a strong first half but struggled in the third quarter, was substituted in the net by Bowdoin goalie Sophie Brett. Meaghan Day kept up the Ephs' scoring streak with a goal at 4:39 assisted by Katy McCullough, putting the Ephs only one goal behind Bowdoin, 9-8. At 2:48, Isabel Arvelo '23 tied up the game at 9, showcasing the Ephs' perseverance.
In the final quarter, Meaghan Day won the draw control giving the Ephs possession of the ball, but the Ephs ran out the shot clock after an attempted goal by Elsa Dean-Muncie. But at 11:14, Katy McCullough — who also scored the first goal of the game — found the back of the cage with an assist by Christina Halloran, giving Williams the lead at 10-9 and completing a 8-goal run.
Bowdoin's Fiona Bundy had the chance to tie up the game with a free position shot at 9:37 but her shot went up and over the net. Franny Donohue again owned the game with her fourth goal of the game at 5:40, putting Williams ahead by 2 and putting Donohue at 10 goals on the season. But Bowdoin — whose offense had been stagnant for almost two full quarters — shrank the Ephs' lead to one when Emelia Krakora scored at 5:29, ending the Ephs' 8-goal run.
With just 3:05 left in the final quarter, Bowdoin's Sophia Sudano tied up the game at 11-11. In the nail-biting final 3 minutes, neither team scored, forcing the game into overtime. But shortly into overtime, Elsa Dean-Muncie scored a walk-off goal on a free position shot and the Ephs secured their fourth straight win, 12-11.
In the first half, the Polar Bears' goalie Izzy Cisneros allowed 7 goals and made 8 saves, while in the second half and the overtime session, Sophie Brett allowed 5 goals and made 2 saves on the day. In the first half, Ephs goalie Caitlyn Joyce allowed 7 goals and made one save, while Caroline Pratt allowed 4 goals and made 4 saves in the rest of the game.
"Bowdoin's very good. They're top 15 in the country. I was very proud of how our team collectively came out and just shut them down in different ways making adjustments along the way. It was a big effort across the board," said Eph head coach Alice Lee. "Our defense stepped up; Molly Hellman helped to lock it down, and Caroline Pratt came up with some key saves in the moment."
Coach Lee continued, "Our team is very talented, athletic, and gritty, but they just have the biggest hearts I've ever seen. It's no easy feat, and we recognize that, to come back against this very good team like that and to come out with the win in the overtime. I'm incredibly proud of how our team responds and how they come together."
Next up for the Ephs is a home game against the FDU-Florham Devils on Wednesday at 4 pm.
