Tessa Ryan '21 nets three goals in women's lacrosse road loss

Tessa Ryan '21 (Josh McKee photo)

Backed by six second-half goals, the nationally ranked No. 8 Colby College Mules topped the Hamilton College Continentals 14-10 on Saturday afternoon at Colby's Bill Alfond Field in Waterville, Maine. Tessa Ryan '21 paced Hamilton with three goals, one assist and two ground balls.

Colby (3-0, 2-0 NESCAC) jumped out to a five-goal lead and held the visitors scoreless for the first twenty minutes of the contest. The Continentals grabbed control with just over ten minutes left to play in the first half by hammering home four unanswered goals to cut their deficit to one.

Hamilton's (0-2, 0-2) Charlotte Wynn '20 fed a cutting Skyler Simson '20 who carried right and shot left to beat Colby goaltender, Izzy Scribano (18 saves) with 10:41 left in the first. Just under four minutes later, Ryan converted a free position shot for her first goal of the game.

Keeping the momentum going, under two minutes later Wynn tallied to cut Colby's lead to two. Wynn was attempting to find an open teammate but instead carried the ball to the right side of the net along the 8-meter arc and beat Scribano down low. Ryan converted another free position shot for her second of the day at 3:50 to make the score 5-4.

With 1:02 left in the half, the Mules responded when Robyn Pirie (3 goals) received a pass from Taylor Moore (3 goals) behind the net to push the Colby lead to two. Ryan pulled the Continentals back within one with 42 second left. Hamilton's Hannah Burrall '19 (7 saves) stopped a Colby shot with one second left on the clock to maintain the 6-5 score going into the intermission.

The teams continued to swap goals at the start of the second half, as Colby started off the scoring to push the score to 7-5 with 26:38 left to play. A minute and a half later Lauren Hamilton '22 tallied her first of the day after receiving a pass from Ryan in front of the net and slipping the shot behind her back and into the nylon.

Colby responded and L. Hamilton echoed on the transition as Eva Abel '22 fed Simson, who found L. Hamilton open in front of the net for her second goal of the day. Kara Pooley '19 tied the score at 8-8 with 17:51 left to play in the game. After playing catch up for most of the game, the Continentals wasted little time claiming the lead when Julia Rowland '21 shoveled home her first of the season a minute and a half later to push the score to 9-8.

Colby responded with six unanswered goals, extending their lead to 14-9 with 3:47 left to play in the game. Simson converted a free position opportunity at 3:27 to finalize the score at 14-10.

Wynn anchored the Continentals defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Pooley chipped in two ground balls and three caused turnovers. They combined for a total of ten draw controls.

The Continentals return home on Saturday, March 16 for a NESCAC game against Bowdoin College at noon.