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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Women's soccer (11-0-0, 6-0) relinquished
their first goal since the second game of the season on September
9, and was forced to play from behind for the first time all season
long. The Ephs kept their composure, and stormed back to
score five goals against conference foe Colby (3-5-1, 0-5-1), to
record the 5-1 victory. Gabrielle Woodson scored two more
goals today to bring her week's scoring total to an impressive five
goals.
Only eight minutes into the game Colby shocked the Williams home
crowd when they were able to take the early lead against the
thirteenth ranked team in the nation. Elizabeth Dankhal
attempted to head the ball and clear it out of Williams' territory,
but the ball went over her head. Colby forward Lauren
Goethals was able to dribble past Williams defensive back Kara
Duggan who had stepped over to help Dankhal. Goethals kicked
a hard shot on the ground, and Ephs goalkeeper Lauren Sinnenberg
dove for the ball. The wet conditions on the field caused the
ball to slip through her hands and Meaghan Edwards retrieved the
rebound and found the net before Sinnenberg could recover from her
dive.
Williams has never had to come back from any deficit, and head
coach Michelyne Pinard was unsure of how the team would respond to
the pressure, saying, "I honestly had no idea how we would respond
to being behind, and I couldn't have been more pleased. We
were a little surprised by the pressure that they threw at us early
on but we did not panic, and instead stuck to our game plan which
is to find feet and take care of the ball."
The Williams offense responded with fervor. With 24:30
remaining in the first period, Woodson scored the first of her two
goals to even the score at one apiece. Five minutes later
Williams would take the lead off a nifty goal by Brianna
Wolfson. Alexa Herlach laced a high ball from outside the box
to Wolfson who was positioned in front of the net. Wolfson
leaped in the air, and with her back to the net, found Herlach's
pass and kicked the ball behind her. The ball soared over
Colby's goalkeeper and inches below the crossbar for the 2-1
advantage. Wolfson finished the game with a goal and an
assist.
The Ephs did not stop their offensive momentum in the second
half. Woodson tallied her fifth goal in six days fifteen
minutes into the second period, while freshman Tyler Rainer scored
her first collegiate goal with twelve minutes remaining in the
game. Rainer's goal came about after teammate and fellow
rookie Annelise Snyder crossed the ball from the right side.
The ball bounced off the opposing goalie's chest and Rainer played
the rebound with a hard line shot into net. With seventeen
seconds left Christine Jones notched her second goal in as many
games to bring the final score to 5-1.
Even without senior captains Kaolin McEvoy and Ana Sani, who are
both sidelined with arm injuries, the Ephs have played consistently
dominant soccer. With McEvoy and Sani expected to return by
next Saturday's game at Middlebury Williams will be an even bigger
force to be reckoned with on the field.
Williams will travel to Middlebury this Saturday at 12:00 p.m.,
before facing off against Tufts in two weeks. Currently Tufts
and Williams are the only two teams who have not lost a conference
match up.
