Williams Women's Lacrosse Uses Late Comeback to Steal One from CMS

CLAREMONT, Calif. - Sophia Millay scored on a free position shot with eight seconds left to cap off a 4-0 run over the final 3:33 and give the Williams women's lacrosse team a 14-13 comeback win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Thursday night at Zinda Field.

The loss spoiled a strong effort from freshman goalie Emma Goldfield, who had 15 saves on the day, as well as high-scoring efforts from senior Corie Hack (five goals), freshman Alex Futterman (four goals) and sophomore Sally Abel (three goals), who all had hat tricks. CMS slips to 8-2 on the season with the loss, while Williams improves its record to 5-3. 

Futterman scored her fourth goal with 7:33 remaining to give the Athenas their largest lead of the game at 13-10, but the Ephs rallied over the final 3:33 to come back for the regulation win. Williams caught a bit of a break to tie the score with 57 seconds left, as the CMS defense deflected a pass that resulted in a loose ball in front of the circle. Several players on both teams engaged in a scrum for the ball, and it was swept in off the ground by Claire Fitzpatrick of Williams to knot the score 13-13. 

The Ephs' Emma TenBarge then won the ensuing draw control and Williams was able to work the clock down to the final 15 seconds. A pass in front resulted in a collision of bodies, and CMS was whistled for a foul, resulting in a free position attempt from Millay, who was able to put it home and give the Ephs the late victory. 

CMS had a dominant spurt early in the second half, scoring four times in a span of 2:34 to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 9-7 lead. Futterman started the run with 25:55 left in the game off a feed from junior midfielder Allie Hill, before sophomore Sally Abel tied the score at the 24:41 mark. Just 27 seconds later, Hack put CMS in front 8-7 off a feed from Hill (one goal, four assists), before Futterman capped off the run on a free position shot for her hat trick at the 23:07 mark. 

Williams withstood the barrage and scored twice 23 seconds apart to tie the score back up with 22:44 to play at 9-9. Abel broke the tie with her second goal at the 18:39 mark, and Hack scored her fifth with 16:27 to go to give CMS an 11-9 advantage. After Williams pulled within 11-10, Abel finished off a hat trick and Futterman added one to make it a 13-10 lead with 7:33 left, before the Ephs had their late run to win it. 

The game had back-and-forth momentum swings in the first half as well. Hill started off the scoring when her feed in front turned into a goal when it sailed into the upper corner, then fed Futterman for her first goal. Hack capped off a game-opening 3-0 run for the Athenas with 18:53 left in the half, but Williams came back with four unanswered from four different players to take a 4-3 lead with 6:52 left in the half. Hack tied it with 5:10 left, but the Ephs got goals from Allison Norris and TenBarge in the final 2:09 to take a 6-4 lead into the break. 

Junior Kira Weiss, who had missed the last four games for CMS with an injury, returned to the defense and led the Athenas with seven ground balls, while freshman Alex Wilson added five. Six different players had two goals apiece for Williams, with Fitzpatrick finishing with two goals and three assists to lead the Ephs with five points.

CMS will be back in action on Saturday when it takes on Oberlin for an 11 a.m. contest at Zinda Field.