What a game it was for the Bates women’s lacrosse team on April 25 against the No. 18 nationally ranked Colby. In their regular season finale, Colby took the win 8-7 during overtime. Colby’s victory enabled them to clinch a spot in the NESCAC playoffs. Colby’s win unfortunately ended the Bobcats’ chance to do the same.
“I thought the Colby game was our hardest-fought game of the season. We moved the ball fast on the attacking side with composure and our slides and communication on defense were great,” says Caroline Kerrigan ‘20.
Colby completely dominated the first half, with a 4-1 lead before intermission. Colby’s Sasha Fritts scored a pair of bounce shots within the first 62 seconds of the game. Continuing on that momentum, Colby’s Kendell Smith made it 3-0 in the first 5 minutes. Fortunately, our very own Bobcat Teal Otley ‘18 was able to get the first goal for Bates from an e position goal shot at an extreme angle on the left side. With 19:46 minutes left to go in the first half, the Mules were able to regain the three goal lead.
The Bobcats forcefully came back in charge by starting the second half with a pair of goals by Liv Sandford ‘20. At the 28:26 mark, Sanford was able to finish a beautiful pass down the left lane by Camille Belletete ‘18. Then again in the 26:13 mark, Sandford closed the gap to 4-3 when Katie Allard ‘19 found her open in front of Colby’s net. These goals showed the Bobcats’ great and unique team dynamic.
“The team dynamic this season was amazing. We are all very close on and off the field, and I definitely thought that was noticeable on the field this season. We all have so much fun playing with each other, and I think that contributed to how hard we worked this season,” says Kerrigan.
58 seconds after that goal, the Bobcats scored another to tie the game 4-4 with Otley batting in a nice inside feed from Sydney Howard ‘19. The Bobcats were soon able to take its only lead of the game at the 24:02 mark when Otley tallied her third score from a bang-bang play. Then with 18:56 left of the second half, the Mules came back to tie it 5-5 with the goal scored by Bridget Horwood.
Colby’s Fritz was able to put the Mules back into the lead when she scored from a tight angle off the right post. Of course, no surprise, the Bobcats came back again to tie the score with Summer Dias 21’s goal over the keeper’s shoulder. Colby aggressively responded with a go-ahead goal: first year Grace Langmuir drove from the left side to into the middle then turned and swung her stick behind her legs scoring a fantastic goal. With 42 seconds left on the clock, the Bobcats were able to score the tying goal, sending both teams to an exciting sudden-death overtime.
Belletete won the opening draw of overtime for Bates, but with 4:16 left, Colby’s Banks weaved in front of the Bates goal to end the game 8-7 for the win.
Although this is the end of the season for the Bates women’s lacrosse team, they will never forget this last game. The game showed the team’s heart and willpower. These qualities will help them improve for next season.
“There were ups and downs we fought through this season, the same as any other season. I think all of wish we could continue our season, but our grit and determination this season made us improve as individual players and as a team. We fought through every obstacle together, and that made us a better team overall,” says Kerrigan.
