LEWISTON, ME -- Women's lacrosse lost 9-7 on Saturday afternoon in a tight game against the Bates Bobcats. Despite grabbing an early lead, the Ephs struggled throughout the second quarter, and could not complete the rally in the second half. The road match up was the Ephs' first in 2025 NESCAC play.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Bates got on the board first, as Caroline Taggart drew an early foul and converted her free-position shot just 49 seconds into the game.
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Williams responded quickly. Claudia Russell forced a Bobcats turnover, then found herself on the receiving end of a pass from McKenna Dwyer, firing a goal into the top corner to tie the score at 1-1 with 9:58 remaining in the first quarter.
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After a long scoreless stretch for both teams, Franny Donohue concluded the first quarter with a bang, netting a screaming shot from distance to give Williams a 2-1 advantage with only four seconds to go in the frame.
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Donohue made another nice play to begin the second quarter, whipping a pass inside to Cece Tauber, who scored to put Williams ahead, 3-1, with 14:04 to go in the second.
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Bates controlled the rest of the second quarter, scoring four goals to go into halftime with a 5-3 lead. Grace Cassin started the run with a goal, followed by two from Laci Raveis, and Taggart tallied her second goal of the game with 1:51 to play in the half.
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Off of a free-position attempt, Caitlin Quinn found a cutting Raveis, who completed her hat-trick by coming back across the goal to make it 6-3, Bobcats, with 10:08 left in the third quarter.
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Williams took back momentum in the middle of the third quarter. First, McKenna Dwyer scored on a low free-position attempt to make it 6-4. Just 66 seconds later, Ainsley Abel caught a pass from Reece Willison in the middle, and finished accurately to cut the deficit to 6-5 with 6:24 left in the third.
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After a time-out, Bates retook the momentum. Cassin netted a close-range goal, then two fouls left Williams two women down, and the Bobcats took advantage with Julia Roelofs finding space in the middle and scoring off of Taggart assist. The Bobcats led 8-5 at the end of the third quarter.
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Anna Miller forced a foul and slotted her free-position shot low and left for a Williams goal to open the fourth quarter scoring, making it 8-6 with 11:12 to play.
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From below the goal, Raveis found Taggart right in front, and Taggart scored her hat-trick to put the Bobcats ahead 9-6 with just 6:30 to play.
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Despite a beautiful individual goal from Willison with 3:27 remaining, the Ephs could not close the gap any further. Bates held on for a 9-7 win.
NOTES
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Bates goalie Raegan White denied many Williams chances, with six saves in the first quarter and 12 saves in the game. Caroline Pratt had seven saves for the Ephs.
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Donohue, Dwyer, and Willison tied for the Ephs team lead with two points apiece.
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Williams out-shot the Bobcats 27-23 and also led in caused turnovers, 11-5.
Williams next competes on Tuesday, March 11, against the Western Connecticut State Wolves at 5 PM on Farley-Lamb Field. The Wolves are 5-0 on the season, and most recently won 11-9 over Westfield State.
