Bri Miller '13 carries the ball upfield against Brockport State. Photo from Web.
At about 10:30 AM on Saturday, April 9, everyone in the Athletic Center heard Wiz Khalifa’s “Black and Yellow” break the silence as the women’s lacrosse team began their warm up—by playing dodge ball. The unusual pre-game pump up seemed to have the girls in good spirits as they prepared for their first potential NESCAC victory of the season. The team (3-6, 0-5 in the NESCAC previous to Saturday’s game) faced Bates College at noon in New London, with their Senior Captain Abby Hill ’11 temporarily benched.
Within the first five minutes of the game, the Bobcats were dominating possession off of the draws, and scored three consecutive points. Six minutes into the half, the Camels got on the scoreboard as Katelyn Driscoll ’12 put one in the net. Cameron Flaherty ’13 did the same less than a minute later, making the score 3-2 Bates at 23:37. Following these two goals, the Camel offense was settling down low well until play was punctuated when Izzy Marx ’14 took a check to the head – the first of many calls (or lack thereof) by a sub-par referee staff.
Bates powerhouse Jenna Dannis ’12 answered back at 19:51, putting the Bobcats ahead by two. After some nicely executed long passes in the midfield transition, Dannis gained a three second call but missed her free position shot. Seconds later, the Camels defense got charged then checked to the head. Grace Megaffin ’12 took the ball, sending it to rookie Olivia Farrell ’14, who booked it all the way up the field. Ashley Crutchfield ’12 received a pass from Farrell and immediately sent a beautiful throw from behind the goal to Marx, who – using her height – finished the play off nicely with a top left corner goal. With about sixteen minutes left in the half, the Camels were now trailing the Bobcats 3-4.
Jenn Brallier ’13 of Bates, another driving force of the Bobcat offense, scored again minutes later, making the score 5-3 in Bates’ favor. Megaffin and defensive middie Charlotte McAuley ’14 kept the Conn defense strong, and goalie Caitlin Cataldo ’14 made two successive saves. Bri Miller ’13 then used her speed in the midfield, but was matched by the wheels of the Bobcats after a turnover, and Bates put another one in the net with ten minutes remaining in the half. Because it was evident that these two well-matched teams were going to have to seriously duke it out, head coach Heather McClelland called a timeout for the Camels.
Fresh off the timeout, Driscoll gained possession of the ball right off the draw (being taken by Hope Barone ’12) and went on to make a beautiful top right corner goal. As whistles became later and later and conflicting calls were made, it became apparent to those on the sidelines that the refs were not on the same page whatsoever.
With 20 seconds left in the half, Libby Nichols ’12 had a free position on account of shooting space. After some scrambling – with the Bobcat goalie still out of the goal – Miller was awarded the ball with one second left in the half. She made the goal, only to be met with what turned into a ten-minute conference between the three referees and two head coaches about whether or not the goal counted on account of the free position potentially being indirect. Tensions rose as Camel parents made their own calls from the sidelines and a snippy “You don’t even play!” could be heard from the Bates bench. Finally, Head Coach McClelland walked away from the huddle back to her team, pumping her fist victoriously. The halftime score was 6-5 Bates, the last time there would be a one point differential.
After much back and forth play for the first six minutes of the second half, the Camel offense took too much time settling and possession switched, leading to another goal by Bates’ Brallier at 23:58. Haley Dumke ’14, who had entered the game after halftime, made clean passes in a midfield transition that seemed to be slipping. With play getting messier, Barone got blatantly slashed but received no free position. The Bobcats scored a minute later, making the score 8-5. Amidst more slashing, Deanna Ezzio ’12 ran the ball up the field off the draw, answering back by feeding the ball to Dumke, who fed to Driscoll. Driscoll made an over-the-shoulder scoop pass to Barone, who got checked above the shoulder and received a call, enabling Miller to take the free position and put the ball in the net with nineteen minutes left in the game.
Despite the Camel defense’s efforts, the Bates offense was consistently faster to Conn’s goal line, and the Bobcats scored once more less than two minutes later. With the quality of play deteriorating, McAuley was tripped so badly that her cleat came off. With good settling by the Camel offense, Driscoll answered back once more. The pace of the game picked up, with exciting plays occurring even behind the Bates net as Maura Brazel ’13 and Marx worked together to double team the Bobcat goalie. With thirteen minutes left in the game, the Camels trailed Bates 12-8 after Bobcat stars Brallier and Dannis scored three goals within two minutes.
However, Camel fans were kept on the edge of their seats as Barone’s lefty shot got tipped by a Bates stick. Brazel gained possession and rolled the crease – only to get checked in the head without a call – then fed the ball to Driscoll, who assisted Miller in the Camels’ ninth goal. Bobcat Brallier answered back a minute later at 11:35, making the score 13-9.
Farrell, who was having a great game, used her height to snatch the ball off the draw. She got blocked and managed to throw to Barone, who ran it up the field. Nichols got a pass in to Flaherty, and just as yet another ref discretion was about to occur, the ref closest to the goal validated Flaherty’s shot, cutting Bates’ lead to 13-10.
With less than five minutes left in the game, play got nasty on both sides as slashes went unnoticed. After a timeout at 2:11, Bates played a fairly successful game of “keep-away.” Conn missed two goal-scoring opportunities and Bates polished off a fifteenth goal with six seconds left. At the game’s end, disappointed Camels looked at a scoreboard that read 15-11 in the Bobcats’ favor.
Despite the loss, the lady Camels are keeping their heads up and looking forward to the remainder of their season. Marx commented, “Our team is really talented, and even though we lost today, there was definitely a change in the overall attitude of the team. We stayed positive the entire time so I think we will be successful if we channel that same positive energy into the next few games.” •
