Bates Tops Wellesley Lacrosse

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- The visiting Bates College lacrosse team overpowered host Wellesley College, as the Bobcats downed the Blue 16-6 on Sunday morning. The win lifts Bates to 5-4, while Wellesley falls to 3-5.

Bates held advantages in shots (29-18) and draw controls (16-8) posting its second win in as many days, after topping Williams yesterday afternoon.

The Bobcats took an early 2-0 lead on goals from Jenna Dannis and Maggie Reilly. Wellesley's Allison Robbins answered with a free position score, cutting the lead to 2-1 with 15:07 to play in the half.

Bates then seized the momentum, closing the period with four unanswered goals to take a 6-1 edge into the break.

Wellesley cut the lead to 6-2, opening the second half with a free-position score from Elizabeth Clemetson. The teams then traded goals, as Bates' Bridget Meedzan and Wellesley's Meredith Roy, each found the back of the net, setting the score to 7-3 with 26:05 remaining.

Bates again took over, with goals from Kathy Yannapoulos, Joan O'Neil and Dannis, building a 10-3 advantage, before Wellesley's Rachel Hanscom scored to make it 10-4 with 11:28 left to play.

Over the next six minutes, the Bobcats used another 4-0 run to put the game out of reach. Two goals from Reilly and one each from Blair Shrewsbury and Emma Getsinger set the score to 14-4 with just over five to play.

Wellesley's Robbins and Hanscom each added their second scores of the game down the stretch, but goals from Bates' Yannopoulos and Wally Pierce set the final to 16-6 in favor of the Bobcats.

Bates was led by six points from O'Neil, who scored twice, while adding four helpers. Yannopoulos recorded three goals and two assists, while Reilly and Dannis each scored three times in the victory. Getsinger led the way with four draw controls, while Cat Dioli added three draw controls and three ground balls.

Wellesley was paced by two scores each from Robbins and Hanscom. Kayla Bolton recorded four ground balls and a caused turnover, while Kaitlyn Kirkaldy caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls. Rounding out the box score, Nathalie Gruet recorded three caused turnovers while Roy added four draw controls.

In goal for Wellesley, Tya Logan recorded five stops in 60 minutes of play. For Bates, Leah Elsmore made four stops in the first half before giving way to Eloise O'Connor, who recorded a save in the second half.

Wellesley is back in action on Wednesday, traveling to Eastern Connecticut State for a 4:30pm game. Bates next plays on Saturday, hosting Hamilton at noon.