Hamilton College shut down the Williams College offense in the fourth quarter and the Continentals went on to earn a 7-5 NESCAC win against the Ephs at Hamilton's Withiam Field on Thursday.
 
The Continentals (7-4, 4-4 NESCAC) held a 3-2 advantage at the break and battled to regain the lead for good midway through the third period. This is Hamilton's first win against the Ephs since 2015. The Continentals return to Withiam Field on Saturday, April 23 for another conference game against nationally ranked No. 9 Tufts University at noon.
 
Williams (6-7, 4-4), which received votes in this week's U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Division III Top 20 poll, dropped its third straight contest. The Ephs had won the previous five meetings with Hamilton.
 
Charlie Ratner '23 and Justin Pearl '25 led the Hamilton offense with two goals apiece. Rowan Brumbaugh '23, Troy Pollock '25 and Tim Sommer '23 registered a goal and an assist each. Britt Defeo '22 passed out his 13^th assist.
 
Seamus Fagan '23 collected 10 saves, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Quin Crowley '22 won 4 of 7 faceoffs and picked up a pair of ground balls. Marc Welch '22 scooped up three ground balls and caused a team-high three turnovers. Cole Johnson '23, Jayme Wilde '25 and Pollock contributed three ground balls each.
 
Jake Haase guided the Ephs with two goals and one assist. Calvin Caputo, Harrison Cross and Tim Saffold scored the other goals. Matt Freitas stopped six shots and tallied a team-high four ground balls, while Owen Roegge picked up three.
 
Haase gave Williams its second lead at 4-3 with 10:48 left in the third quarter after a ground ball pickup. The Continentals tied the score as Ratner put one in the back of the net from in front of the crease on a nifty pass from Pollock with 9:24 remaining. Just 61 seconds later, Hamilton went up 5-4 as Pearl bounced a shot past Freitas.
 
Hamilton stretched its cushion to two goals with 6:54 to go in the third when Pollock took on a defender from the backside, beat the screen and surprised Freitas. Trailing by two, Williams hustled and responded with its fifth and final goal 69 seconds later when Haase found Saffold.
 
Fagan tallied three of his 10 saves and Hamilton forced five turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Continentals collected their last goal after Freitas left his crease to apply pressure, and Brumbaugh fed a pass to Sommer who skipped in an empty-net goal with 2:09 remaining.
 
Williams won the following faceoff but Welch caused a turnover and gave Hamilton possession. The Continentals were given a clock reset after the Ephs were flagged for pushing, and Hamilton went on to win its third consecutive contest.
 
Williams struck first on a goal by Haase with 8:18 left in the first quarter. The Continentals responded with 1:45 remaining on a goal by Ratner. He powered through a double-team and roped the ball into the back of the net from mid-air.
 
Hamilton went in front 49 seconds into the second stanza on a left-sided goal by Pearl that was assisted by Sommer. The Continentals extended their lead with 10:57 remaining when Brumbaugh connected after Defeo made his way from behind the net to feed Brumbaugh in front.
 
Despite momentum favoring the men in white, Williams notched its second goal with just two seconds to go in the half as Bjorn Davidson passed to Caputo. After the break, the Ephs tied the score on a goal by Cross with 12:50 left in the third.