Bubble Trouble?: Colby Hammers Middlebury
from press releases
MEDFORD, Mass. --- The champs are back in the New
England Small College Athletic Conference title game.
The third-ranked Colby College women's lacrosse team, the defending
NESCAC champions, exploded for 11 goals in the second half to knock
off ninth-ranked Middlebury College for the second time this season
in a 17-12 victory in a conference semifinal game Saturday at Tufts
University.
The second-seeded Mules, now 15-1 overall and winners of 14
straight games, set a program record for wins in a season heading
into Sunday's NESCAC title game against fifth-seeded Williams
College. The Ephs took an 11-10 double overtime win over top-seeded
Tufts in the other league semifinal game.
Colby showed its depth and explosiveness after Caroline Atwater,
the team's eighth leading scorer, led the way with three goals and
two assists. Atwater had two of the goals in the second half when
the Mules turned a 6-6 halftime tie into a 13-7 lead when she
tallied with 15:57 to play.
"I was really proud of (Atwater)," Colby head coach Karen MacCrate
Henning said. "She took smart shots and when she didn't have it,
she didn't force it."
Kate Sheridan reached 290 career points (181 goals, 109 assists)
with two goals and two assists for the Mules. Sheridan is up to 34
goals and 47 assists for 81 points this season.
Amy Campbell has 10 goals in the NESCAC tourney after scoring three
and dishing one assist for Colby. Mule co-captain Cary Finnegan
added two goals and one assist, while Becky Julian, Heather
Nickerson, and Kathleen Kramer all had two goals. First-year
midfielder Claire Donegan dished three assists and Carly Rapaport
had one goal. Finnegan also had two of Colby's 18 draw controls and
added one caused turnover.
"Cary is just so versatile," MacCrate Henning said. "Whatever
we need, she does it. You can just plug her in anyplace on the
field."
Middlebury (9-5) got off to 2-0 and 4-2 leads in the opening 21
minutes of the half. The Mules, though, scored four straight
goals in a span of just under five minutes to turn the deficit into
a 6-4 lead. The Panthers did claw back with two goals in the final
2:07 to forge the halftime tie.
"Defensively, we talked about stepping up and not letting their
go-to players control the tempo of the game," MacCrate Henning
said. "And on attack we wanted to settle down a little and take
more time, not force so many shots. We did a much better job of
that in the second half."
After trading goals to start the second half, Colby went on a
6-0 scoring run to take control. Nickerson had back-to-back goals
to start the run and Atwater also had two goals during that time.
The Panthers got as close as 16-11 with 4:41 to play, but Campbell
netted an unassisted goal with 2:28 to play for the Mules' final
goal.
Sarah Warnke stopped eight shots in goal for the Mules to move to
23-4 in net over the past two years.
Colby moves to 10-0 in away and neutral site games this season. The
Mules are looking to become the first Colby team ever to win two
NESCAC titles.
"I think the team is having fun and playing together. I know it
sounds funny, but they are just enjoying their time together,"
MacCrate Henning said. "There is no pressure and they are just
playing. I think that's an important thing for tomorrow and for any
of our future games."
Williams is in the NESCAC title game for the first time ever after
going 0-7 in semifinal games before breaking that run against the
Jumbos. Colby took a 9-8 win over the Ephs in the first game of the
regular season in Williamstown. Colby, however, was playing without
Julian and Nickerson at that time because of ice hockey
commitments.
"I was impressed that (Williams) got down by two goals in overtime
and came back," MacCrate Henning said. "They were fighting with
everything they had."
