Bates Women's lacrosse rises to 4-0 with 12-7 win over Babson

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates women's lacrosse team went on an 8-1 run during the first half to pull away from Babson College in a 12-7 non-conference victory Wednesday evening at Garcelon Field.

Bates (4-0) is undefeated through four games for the first time since 2003, while Babson dropped to 1-1.

Babson got out to a 3-1 lead within the game's first eight minutes, with goals by Julia Harrigan, Katie McKenna and Annie Arthur. Bates senior goalkeeper Hannah Jeffrey (Greenwich, Conn.), the NESCAC Player of the Week, allowed that many goals through all of two games last week against Wellesley and Wesleyan.

Bates narrowed the game to 3-2 with a free-position goal by sophomore Teal Otley (Cumberland, Maine), then tied it with senior Moriah Greenstein's (Glenmont, N.Y.) first of four goals on the night, as the All-American attacker faked to bring the ball back out to the perimeter, wheeled and stuffed the ball past Babson goalie Stevie Burger.

Bates first-year Sydney Howard (Ashland, Mass.) made a strong individual move along the baseline
to push Bates ahead for the first time, 4-3, with 16:08 to go in the first. Babson tied the game back up as Charlotte O'Halloran found Lyndsay Giroux with 15:42 left.

The Bobcats then reeled off five goals in a row, including Greenstein's second-half-opening tally at the 28:08 mark. Howard tallied another unassisted goal to give Bates the lead for good at 5-4. Junior Drew Barry (Portland, Maine) and Greenstein both scored in the game's 19th minute, with Greenstein on the assist to Barry, and Bates made it 8-4 before the break with senior Alex Briody's (North Kingstown, R.I.) free-position goal with 11 seconds to go. Greenstein's unassisted goal with 28:08 left in regulation opened up a 9-4 advantage.

Babson didn't fold, however, responding with a 3-1 run to close the gap to 10-7 with 13:10 remaining. Arthur netted back-to-back scores at 22:39 and 20:57, with assists by Kyla Farina and McKenna, and O'Halloran's pass from behind the net was finished off by Jacki Merrigan with 13:10 to go.

Bates regained a four-goal advantage with 7:45 left as sophomore Allison Dewey (Vergennes, Vt.) controlled a Babson turnover and streaked upfield before hitting junior Sydney Cowles (Wayne, Pa.) for the goal, prompting a Beavers timeout. Cowles added an insurance goal with an assist by junior Kaileigh Maguire (Sudbury, Mass.) with 1:44 left in the game.

Howard and Cowles scored two goals apiece for Bates, while senior Emma Brinkman (Rye, N.Y.) added a goal and an assist. Sophomore Camille Belletete (Jaffrey, N.H.) had a game-high six draw controls. Senior Cara Cappellini (Manhasset, N.Y.) led Bates' defense with two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Jeffrey finished with seven saves.

Arthur paced Babson with three goals, while O'Halloran had two assists and McKenna had a goal and an assist. Harrigan and Carroll had three draw controls apiece, while Lauren Drakeley was credited with three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Burger totaled five saves.

Bates will host Amherst in a NESCAC game on Saturday at 2:30pm.