Colby Headed to Women's Lacrosse Title Game with 8-7 Overtime Win
Courtesy Trinity Sports Information
HARTFORD, Conn. – Junior midfielder Casey Thomas (Needham, Mass.) scored in overtime to give the No. 3-seed Colby College Mules an 8-7 win over the No. 4-seed Amherst College Lord Jeffs in the semifinal round of the NESCAC Championship Tournament this afternoon at Robin Sheppard Field on the campus of Trinity College. Colby improves to 13-3 and Amherst falls to 11-5 on the season.
Colby grabbed a 6-3 lead in the first half before Amherst first-year Hillary Denson (Summit, N.J.) found the back of the net with 27 seconds remaining in the half. Momentum carried over to the second half for Amherst, as the Lord Jeffs limited Colby to just one goal, while scoring three on the offensive end, highlighted by a game-tying goal by senior Hannah Walker (Greenwich, Conn.) with under three minutes remaining in regulation.
Colby regained control in overtime, as Thomas' goal gave the Mules an 8-7 lead, quelling Amherst's ambitions of a comeback. Colby was able to keep Amherst from the offensive zone to seal the win and punch a ticket to the league Championship final. Amherst sophomore goalkeeper Lamia Harik (Rye Brook, N.Y.) is credited with the loss in net for the Lord Jeffs despite coming up with fifteen saves in the contest, while Colby junior goalkeeper Sarah Warnke (Lakeville, Conn.) made five saves as Colby outshot Amherst 27-16.
Two-time defending champ Colby advances to the NESCAC Championship final against No. 7-seeded Williams, which will be played tomorrow at noon at Trinity College. Amherst hopes to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA national tournament, which will be decided on Sunday night. Tomorrow's contest will be aired live at www.trincoll.tv.
