Women’s Lacrosse Doubles Winning Streak

Last Saturday, the Women’s Lacrosse team took on Williams in back-and-forth action that saw the Bobcats eventually pulling away with a 13-11 victory. This marked the second consecutive Bobcat win and pulled the team over 0.500 for the first time this season.

The Ephs struck just 1:37 into the game, with Suzanna Penikins capitalizing on a failed Bates clearance attempt to slot the ball past goalie Eliza Statile ’19 for the opening goal. The Bobcats responded quickly two minutes later as Margaret Smith ’21 found Lila Hutchins ’21 for the quick retort.

The action heated up from there, as Bates and Williams traded goals over the next five minutes. Throughout the first half, Margaret Smith shined, netting another goal and an assist before the halftime break. Despite the strong performance from Smith, the Bobcats found themselves down 7-5 going into the second half.

It was during this second half that the Bobcats came to life. A stellar defensive display saw Statile face a measly two shots in the first six minutes of the half. It was during these first six minutes that Jillian Futter ’21, Katie Allard ’19, and Margaret Smith each scored to put the Bobcats up 8-7. Williams then called a timeout to limit the onslaught from the Bates attackers.

The Ephs showed they weren’t going to be put away easily with Clair Fitzpatrick scoring with 22:48 left to knot the score up at 8-8. Bates and Williams traded fouls, shots, and groundballs for the next eight minutes, neither team giving an inch.

The deadlock was finally broken when Dana Swartz ’22 fed Avery MacMullen ’20 to score her fifth goal on the season with 11:12 left in the game. Bates and Williams continued the intense back-and-forth action, with each team netting a goal within the next three minutes.

With less than six minutes to go, Katie Allard went off to score the next three goals for the Bobcats. The late-game heroics from the New Jersey native were of nothing short of awe-inspiring as any fleeting hopes of victory for the Ephs disintegrated.

Allard’s 21st, 22nd, and 23rd goals of the season seated her on top of the scoring leaders this year for the Bobcats. Williams was able to get one goal back, but the Ephs’ fate had already been sealed through the Bobcats’ domination. Bates’ 13-11 victory over Williams gave them a strong push in the NESCAC standings and drastically improved the team’s title hopes. The win over Williams moved Bates into fourth in NESCAC standings and improved the Bobcats’ ranking to 21st in the nation. The Bobcats will be looking to ride the momentum from this victory into next week’s NESCAC contest against the 4-3 Hamilton College. Hamilton has won four of their previous five games and will be looking to stop the Bobcats in their tracks. Next week’s contest in Lewiston has all the makings of an instant classic and will shape the landscape of NESCAC for weeks to come.

Allard’s 21st, 22nd, and 23rd goals of the season seated her on top of the scoring leaders this year for the Bobcats. Williams was able to get one goal back, but the Ephs’ fate had already been sealed through the Bobcats’ domination. Bates’ 13-11 victory over Williams gave them a strong push in the NESCAC standings and drastically improved the team’s title hopes.

The win over Williams moved Bates into fourth in NESCAC standings and improved the Bobcats’ ranking to 21st in the nation. The Bobcats will be looking to ride the momentum from this victory into next week’s NESCAC contest against the 4-3 Hamilton College.

Hamilton has won four of their previous five games and will be looking to stop the Bobcats in their tracks. Next week’s contest in Lewiston has all the makings of an instant classic and will shape the landscape of NESCAC for weeks to come.