By: Tom Maguire, Beat Writer Bates College
On a crisp sunny afternoon in Hartford CT., the Bates Bobcats women’s lacrosse team lost their first game of the year 6-5 against the #3 ranked Trinity Bantams. The game began with three goal swings by both teams in the first half before settling down to a tight back and forth game until the clock ran out.
Trinity scored first at 22:17 on a free position shot by junior Kiley Coffee (West Newbury MA) followed 55 seconds later by a one timer from junior Clare Lyne (Concord MA) who cut across the middle and received a nice high pass from junior Emma Malicki (Loudonville NY). The Trinity lead was extended to 3-0 five minutes later at 16:44 by first year Olivia Johnson (West Granby CT) on a quick shot assisted by Clare Lyne. At this point, momentum was tilting in Trinity’s direction as the Bantams were starting to get their offensive tempo with quick passes to cutters from behind the net.
After nearly eight minutes of great defense on both ends, including two point blank saves by the Bobcats goalie senior Hannah Jeffrey (Greenwich CT), the Bates Bobcats needed a spark. At 8:57 remaining in the first half, Senior Moriah Greenstein (Glenmont NY) split the Trinity defense and caught the back of the net on a tumbling shot to break the ice with a max effort play. The tally fired up the Bobcats as they badly needed to get on the board. Bates closed within one goal a minute later at 7:59 when junior Drew Barry (Portland ME) scored high stick side on a beautiful 360 spin move. Bates leveled the game 3-3 at 4:12 left in the half when Greenstein snared an errant pass on the left side of the net and scored low inside the post. The first half ended at 3-3.
Less than three minutes into the second half, Bates took their first lead of the game 4-3 on their fourth consecutive goal when senior Alex Briody (North Kingstown RI) received a pass in stride from sophomore Allison Dewey (Vergennes VT), cut left, reversed direction and fired a low shot glove side for the goal at 27:13.
Trinity knotted the game at 4-4 at 21:49 on strong solo effort by junior Karly Simpson (South Hadley MA) who scored on a low shot after a nice right to left cut. Three minutes later at 18:46, Trinity pulled ahead 5-4 on a one timer from a cutting Clare Lyne on a high precise pass from sophomore Abby McInerney (Cape Elizabeth ME).
Seven tense scoreless minutes passed as both teams denied offensive attacks with quality team defense. At 11:45, Bates patiently found an opening as Greenstein fought her way from left to right on a solo effort and caught the top right corner for a 5-5 tie game. With the score tied and the clock ticking down, both teams defended their goal with strong positional play. At 8:27, on a free position shot, Clare Lyne put Trinity ahead 6-5 for what turned out to be the final score of the game.
After a number of possession changes, Trinity gained control of the ball with four minutes left and was content to run the clock down. Bates caused a turnover deep in their own end with under a minute left in the game, but the Bobcats were unable to get a shot on net as time expired.
Trinity (6-1) moves to 3-1 in the NESCAC while Bates (6-1) drops to 2-1 with their first NESCAC loss.
Trinity travels to Tufts and Bates visits Williams for their March 26 NESCAC league match ups.
Tom Maguire, Beat Writer Bates College
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