Bants Come up Short Against Mules

Saturday's game was the finale of a BUSY first two weeks of competition and our Bants ran out of steam against a talented Colby squad, falling with a final score of 7-10. After a thrilling game against W&L, we were excited to host Colby on Saturday, as it was a rematch of the 2008 NESCAC Championship game.

We got off to a hot start, scoring the first 2 goals of the game off of Caite Irvine scores. Colby answered shortly after with their first tally of the game. Rachel would extend our lead again, minutes later, converting on a drive from the top of the 8 meter. After sustaining a Colby 2 goal run, we were able to regain the lead again off of a Jenn Calver free position goal. While things seemed to be going our way, the tides quickly turned and we would be held scoreless for the remainder of the first half, and most of the second, finally scoring our 5th goal with 7 minutes to go in the game. We quickly added a few more goals but it was a little too late to make much of a dent in the 6 goal lead that Colby had built up.

While we struggled offensively, our defense played well, with Gina recording 13 saves for the game! We were patient defensively and gave Colby good pressure on the ball, forcing 20 turnovers on the day. Liz Bruno tallied 3 caused turnovers and Annie Cook and Caite Irvine both recorded 2 caused turnovers in the defensive effort. Annie, Lauren Peck, and Carrie Wolcott did a great job of helping to transition the ball against a fiesty and fast Colby ride. As a team we did a great job of limiting our turnovers, totaling only 13 on the day.

Annie Cook applies good ball pressure on Colby attacker!

We had great minutes from lots of different players Saturday - Emma Lynch provided a nice spark on the defensive end and Ali O'Brien, Kristin Phelps and Christy Bradley helped give us some good offensive looks against a very good Colby goalie.

Kayla and Annie defend the 8-meter!
While we were all disappointed that we didn't play to our potential, the support from the parents on the sidelines was amazing! The tailgate that followed was second to none, thanks in large part to the grilling skills of Big Love! Thank you to all the parents for feeding us, be it with girl scout cookies and snack bags on the bus to VA or burgers and sausages for a home tailgate - we are so lucky to have such loyal fans!!

We are excited to have a week of practice decompress a bit from spring break and have lots of time to prepare for Williams on Saturday. We travel there and play at Noon. Go Bants!