Sports

Lax beats Camels and Ephs

By Sirianna Santacrose ’15

April 18, 2013

Since their game against Skidmore College on April 10, the Hamilton men’s lacrosse team has been on a winning streak, beating Conn. College last weekend 5-4 and Williams on Tuesday afternoon 8-7 in an exciting sudden-death overtime period. Now that the team has proven its ability to perform under pressure, all it needs is a win in its last conference game of the regular season against Trinity on Saturday to secure a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.

Last Saturday’s game against No. 14- ranked Conn. College broke the Camels’ six-game winning streak this season. The Camels scored two goals less than two minutes into the first quarter. Hamilton quickly responded with two quick goals by Pax Anthos ’14 off an assist from captain Bryan Hopper ’14 and by Nate Menninger ’16 off an assist from Matthew Hill ’13. Additional goals by Connecticut College’s Thomas Woessner ’14 and later by Hopper off a pass from Anthos with less than 16 seconds left in the first quarter left the score at an even 3-3. Thanks to a goal by Connor Morgan ’15 with 1:45 minutes left in the second quarter, the Conts gained a 4-3 advantage at halftime.

During the third quarter, Morgan posted the game-winning goal for the Conts, which was his 10th goal of the season. While Conn.’s Chad Sawyer ’15 scored with 4:10 left in the third, the Camels were unable to retake the lead. Though the Camels had several shots on goal during the fourth quarter, Will Driscoll ’15 made five of his impressive 15 total saves throughout the game. While the Camels gained an extra-man opportunity in the final thirty seconds of the game after the Conts caused a game penalty, the clock ran out with Driscoll’s final save, and the Conts claimed the victory.

Menninger was proud of the way the team and individual players contributed to the win against the Conn. College He praised Driscoll for having “a phenomenal game” and felt that “our offense did a great job at being patient and waiting for the right moment to strike.” Hopper was also pleased with how the game turned out, saying that “Saturday’s win was the first time we were able to put together an entire 60 minutes of play ...  It was definitely our strongest performance in conference play so far this year.”

The Continentals had another close game with Williams College Tuesday. Like in Saturday’s game against Conn., the Ephs took the lead in the first quarter 3-1 and had a 5-2 lead at the half. Williams widened the gap 55 seconds into the third quarter with a fourth goal. Hamilton responded to close the gap to 6-5 by the end of the quarter, helped by a key goal shot by Zimmerman with 3.2 seconds left. Williams scored in a man-up opportunity at the start of the final quarter, which brought the score to 7-5. However, first-year Sam Sweet and Anthos posted goals 44 seconds apart with less than six minutes left in the game. The Ephs were unable to push past Hamilton’s tough defense and the game was forced into overtime. Though both teams fought hard for possession of the ball, it was Hopper’s shot on goal with just 14.6 seconds left in the sudden-death overtime period that earned the Conts the 8-7 win.

This game brought the Continentals’ home record to 5-1. Sweet led Hamilton’s defense with a career-high three goals, Driscoll made six saves and Menninger won five of his face-offs. The Continentals also had a 42-31 shot advantage over the Ephs.

Head Coach Scott Barnard noted that this game was one that required patience and perseverance in order to come out with the win. He explained, “we started chipping away because we knew we weren’t going to score all our goals at one time,” especially because “Williams is an excellent defensive team and makes you work for their shots.” Barnard also said that this game “set up the stage for this coming weekend.”

Going into Saturday’s game against Trinity, the players recognize that they do have some improvements to make. “We need to work on starting games stronger,” Menninger said. “Our team needs to continue to show up to every game with a sense of urgency and energy. He added that “while we have certainly hit our stride in the past couple games, there is no doubt in my mind that we can and must play better, run faster, and fight harder in order to make the best of any opportunity.”

Morgan, who was named NESCAC Player of the Week for his five goals in the game against Skidmore last Wednesday and for scoring the game-winning goal against Conn. College, is confident in the team’s ability to perform well in Saturday’s game. “I feel that if we keep playing the way we have then we have a very good chance to beat a solid Trinity team,” he said.

Though the win against Williams put the Conts in contention to be in the playoffs, beating Trinity on Saturday is necessary to gaining a secure place in postseason play. Having beat every team in the NESCAC except for two in the past two years that Hamilton has been included in the conference, the chance to play in the NESCACs looks promising.

Barnard feels that the players “have a lot of potential, it just depends on how well they execute.” He adds that “the NESCAC is the tightest and most competitive in DIII lacrosse.” In order to go far, “you have to be very focused and bring your best game.” Having made it to the quarterfinals last year, the Conts know the pressure is on to bring out a strong performance in Saturday’s game against Trinity. If they do make it to postseason play, the possibility to go even farther than last year is also on the table. As Coach Barnard put it, “when you’re in the playoffs, anything can happen.”

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