STANDISH, Maine – Bates College (3-3) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-2), 15-9, in a hard-fought non-conference women's lacrosse contest at the SJC Athletics Complex on Monday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The teams played a very competitive and physical game that featured several offensive swings from both programs. The Monks rallied from a pair of two-goal deficits in the second quarter and had the momentum in their favor with the game tied late in the second period, but the Bobcats' speed and stingy defense proved to be the difference.
The visiting Bobcats netted a pair of goals in the first five minutes, as Lauren Wong (Walpole, Mass.) and Caroline Taggart (Concord, Mass.) lifted Bates to an early lead. During the remainder of the first quarter, SJC junior Carson Battaglia (Gorham, Maine) and grad Lydia Dexter (Oakland, Maine) offset a pair of Bobcat tallies with strikes of their own as the visitors held a 4-2 advantage heading into the second stanza.
Saint Joseph's scored three of the first four goals in the second quarter, including a Bridget Collins (Milford, Conn.) tally that tied the contest at 5-5 with 10:29 before the break. The Bobcats responded with a pair of goals in a matter of 51 seconds, as Taggart potted a man-up marker at the 8:59 mark and Annie Lowenstein (Yarmouth, Maine) hit pay dirt with 8:08 left in the second to provide the Bobcats with a 7-5 cushion.
Collins returned the favor with consecutive goals for the Monks, as the junior standout scored on a free position shot at the 7:39 mark and again with a laser to the top right corner to make it a 7-7 game with 6:14 remaining in the second period. With the game seemingly headed to halftime with a tie score, Bates junior midfielder Maddy Roelofs (Rye, N.H.) put her team on top – for good, as it played out – with a man-down strike with 40 seconds left in the quarter.
A defensive battle played out in the third quarter with Bates scoring three goals – including two free position darts from Taggart – while holding Saint Joseph's off the board as the Monks faced an 11-7 margin going into the final frame.
SJC junior Megan Mourmouras (Biddeford, Maine) snapped the Monks' scoring drought with a tremendous individual effort, as the midfielder picked up the opening draw control, weaved through several defenders, and drilled a shot into the netting to cut the Bobcats' cushion to 11-8.
The teams swapped scores over the subsequent four minutes as a Dexter tally made it a 12-9 game with 10:39 left, but Bates closed out the contest with a 3-0 run to notch the victory.
TEAM STATS:
Bates held the lead in shots (31-25), shots on goal (22-18), and caused turnovers (17-11) while St. Joe's held an advantage in ground balls (23-22) and draw controls (17-11) in the losing bid.
THE KEEPERS:
Both teams split time in the cage, as SJC sophomore Morgan Wright (Chelmsford, Mass.) took the loss after making two saves and allowing eight goals in the first half and freshman Alexis Eldridge (Effingham, N.H.) turned away eight shots while yielding seven goals in the second half.
Bates senior starter Cammie Lavoie (Epping, N.H.) gave up seven goals and made five stops in the first half to pick up the win while Avery Lehman (Portsmouth, N.H.) allowed two goals and posted four saves in the closing 30 minutes.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Dexter netted four goals with a pair of assists
- Collins tallied three goals and two assists on five shots
- Battaglia registered a goal and an assist with six draw controls and two ground balls
- Mourmouras chipped in with a goal, four ground balls, three draw controls, and two caused turnovers
LEADERS – BATES:
- Taggart scored six goals with an assist, two ground balls, and a pair of caused turnovers
- Lowenstein netted four goals with an assist and two ground balls
- Wong and Caroline Keating (Rye, N.Y.) scored two goals apiece
- Sophomore Emily Mueller (Alexandria, Va.) produced three ground balls and three caused turnovers
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 0-7 in the history of the series with Bates College. For the Monks, today's goal total versus the Bobcats is the most in the seven game series while the six-goal losing margin is the lowest against the NESCAC foe.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play at Anna Maria College on Saturday in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest slated to start at 2:00 PM. The Monks return home for a GNAC game versus Rivier University on Wednesday, March 29th (5:00 PM).
