Men's Lacrosse: Ephs dominate second half to double-up Bobcats

Bates College attack Clarke Jones, left, tries to get by Williams College defender Cameron Brown during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)

LEWISTON — The national acclaim Bates garnered for Tuesday’s highlight goal against Keene State didn’t impress NESCAC rival Williams. The Ephs will even argue it provide extra incentive when they met the Bobcats on Saturday.

A road conference game was all the motivation the Ephs needed. After squandering a strong start, they dominated the second half and handed the Bobcats their loss at Garcelon Field this season, 17-8.

Brendan Hoffman scored four goals while Kevin Stump and Cory Lund notched hat tricks for the Ephs, who improved to 3-1 in NESCAC and 3-3 overall. Clarke Jones tallied four goals for the Bobcats, who had a three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 1-3 in-conference, 4-4 overall.

Saturday marked Bates’ first game since Matt Chlastawa and Brendan Mullally earned the top spot in ESPN’s Sportscenter “Top 10” highlight rankings on Tuesday with their behind-the-back-pass-to-behind-the-back-goal connection in the 21-8 win over Keene State.

For Williams, it was merely a reminder of life in NESCAC lacrosse.

“We knew about it. We talked about it less than you think,” a smiling Stump said. “Everyone saw it. But, yeah, that wasn’t a big factor for us. We come in every game the same way. This was a big one for us. It’s an in-conference game.”

The Ephs made shutting down Chlastawa, the Bobcats’ leading scorer with 26 goals going into the game, a priority on Saturday. Led by a big, bruising defense, they mostly succeeded, limiting him to one goal on only three shots.

“We just knew he’s a very good lacrosse player, so we decided to try to shut him off,” Williams coach George McCormack said. “They weren’t as potent as they normally are and that was part of it.”

Williams goalie George Peele made eight saves and even got in on the physical play, flattening one Bates attacker in the crease in the second half.

“He bounced back from a game where he didn’t have his best game (a 15-10 loss at Stevens on Tuesday), so we were really proud of him,” McCormack said. “He’s a big guy (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) and takes up a lot of the cage.”

Angus O’Rourke and Alex Kitt dominated faceoffs for the Ephs, particularly in the first half and 19-10 for the game. Williams, which never trailed, also consistently won the battle for ground balls, 41-31, in a typically physical NESCAC tilt.

“I think it starts there,” Bates coach Peter Lasagna said of Williams’ dominance on the draw. “Their faceoff guy was terrific. Their wings are terrific. They threw a little bit of a wrinkle that we haven’t seen, which is a total shutoff of Matt Chlastawa. But it’s not that big of a deal. You set some picks. It shouldn’t stop us from doing everything that we’re doing.”

“I just have to give Williams credit. I thought they were better than us in every phase of the game today,” he added.

Williams regrouped after Bates rallied from a 4-0 deficit to tie it at 6-6 on Jones’ second goal with 25 seconds to go in the half. Stump scored 1:21 into the third quarter to give the Ephs the lead again for good.

“We didn’t make any adjustments,” McCormack said. “All we talked about was being fundamentally sound, getting ground balls, moving to the head-man and just trying to communicate and retain our space. And trying to calm down a little bit. It got a little hectic there for a little while.”

“The tempo was great,” Stump said. “We were able to possess the ball for a little bit longer and that lets our defense get a rest and lets us find the best looks that we can get. That showed up on the scoreboard.”

Hoffman made it a two-goal game before Jones, with a man up, pulled the Bobcats back within one with 11:20 remaining in the third. That would be their last goal of the period, however, as Williams started to pull away with four unanswered goals, including two by Lund.

O’Rourke capped the run by winning the faceoff to start the fourth quarter and raced downfield to score his only goal to make it 12-7. Curtis Knapton (one goal, two assists) responded for Bates, but Stump scored three goals in the final eight minutes to help Williams put the game away.

Bates hosts Endicott in its final non-conference game on Tuesday before resuming NESCAC play at Hamilton on Saturday.

Williams College midfielder Jared Strauss, back, shoves Bates College attack Peter Strong during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Williams College midfielder Jared Strauss, back, shoves Bates College attack Peter Strong during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Bates College attack Matt Chlastawa (45) tries to get around Williams College defender Cameron Brown (35) as Williams keeper George Peele keeps an eye on the action during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Bates College head coach Peter Lasagna, center, in black, and assistant coach Tom Fourneir, right, in black vest, stand with reserves on the sideline and watch the action during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Bates College attack Bates College attack Max Breschi (5) fires a shot at Williams College keeper George Peele during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Bates College defender Stephen Bull, right, stops Williams College attack James McFarland from moving the ball past him during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Williams midfielder Jared Strauss, left, tries to get around Bates College midfielder Sean Clark during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Bates College attack Clarke Jones, middle, gets swarmed by Williams College defenders while trying to get a shot on goal during their lacrosse game on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston on Saturday. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)Williams College attack Kevin Stump, right, tries to get around Bates College midfielder Sean Clark during their game Saturday on Garcelon Field at Bates College in Lewiston. (Justin Pelletier/Sun Journal)