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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – North Carolina, get ready — the
Ephs are coming. Playing their most complete 90 minutes of soccer
when it mattered most, Williams (19-0-1) advanced to the Final Four
over Ithaca College (17-3-2) by a 2-0 score in their final showdown
of the season on Cole Field.
“Our goal was to leave Cole [Field]
happy,” said Ephs keeper Lauren
Sinnenberg. “It is a special place for our
team, where we can sort of escape everything
else. The last two years we've ended our
seasons losing on our home field, and this was our last chance to
leave happy, and we were playing for our seniors out there.”
This was a special day for the six Williams
seniors, who have had their sights on the Final Four since Day 1 of
their collegiate careers.
“We are so excited,” said Williams
defensive back, Caitlin Colesanti. “We
worked so hard to make it this far, and we were just so ready.
We've been preparing for this, and with only two games left,
it's all we wanted. We're so pumped
to play Wheaton.”
The Ephs will take on Wheaton College (21-3-2)
in the national semifinals on December 5th in
Greensboro, North Carolina. The Thunder has
reached the Final Four five times in program history, and has won
the Div. III National Championship three of the last four years,
including last season.
Willams advanced to today's Elite 8
contest after a first-round bye, a 3-0 defeat of Husson College,
and yesterday's come from behind 2-1 victory against The
College of New Jersey. The Bombers recorded a
first round shutout of Westfield State, 6-0, and then blanked Roger
Williams University 2-0 to advance to the Sectionals. The Bombers
have won their last five contest via a shutout, but
couldn't muster any offense against the always-tight Williams
defense.
Sarah Wamsley and
Gabrielle Woodson's chemistry on the field continued in
today's contest. Teaming up for two goals
yesterday against TCNJ, the two Eph forwards connected once more
for the first score against Ithaca. With 12:49 remaining in the
half, Walmsley fed the ball from the center to Woodson on the wing.
Woodson ripped off a shot from the outside that fell just
underneath the crossbar and into net.
It was not the
only look for Williams in the first half, and the Ephs could have
easily led by as many as three or four goals. Nearly ten minutes
into the game, Woodson found herself one on one against the goalie.
Bombers keeper Alyssa Stomayer deflected the ball. Sara Wild
collected the loose ball and had a chance at the open net, but her
shot sailed wide. The Ephs were lucky that their missed
chances did not come back to haunt them later in the game.
Although the teams
played without the snow and ice of yesterday, the wind still played
a huge factor in today's contest. When
either team had the wind at their backs, their shot total
skyrocketed. In the first half, Williams played
with the wind and knocked off 11 shots, while in the second half,
Ithaca had 15 shots and many looks at net.
“They
[Williams] had a ton of chances in the first half, and we had a ton
of chances in the second half,” said Ithaca head coach Mindy
Quigg. “We felt
good leaving the first half only behind 1-0, and we felt good in
the second half too but they exposed the one mistake we
made.”
In a game that saw
32 combined called fouls, one foul just outside the goal box
provided the perfect opportunity for the Ephs to pad their lead
with an insurance goal in the second half.
Jacqueline Russo took the free kick, and attempted to lob the ball
to the far left side where a charging Ephs attack would look to
score. Brianna Wolfson corralled the lob, but
had no room to score, and passed to Wild who found the back left
corner for the 2-0 lead.
Sinnenberg
recorded five saves in the second half, off a blistering run of
shots by the Bombers that saw Ithaca surpass Williams in shot
totals 18-17, but most of Ithaca's shots on goal were aimed
right at the keeper.
“We
[Williams] went more conservative in the second half to hold onto
the lead,” commented Sinnenberg. “It
allowed them to dribble at our midfield and so they got a lot of
shots on, but most of them came right at me and were everyday saves
that I could handle. Our defense always has two or three girls
on them at all times, so they were just trying to get the ball at
the net whenever they could.”
“The only
thing we had to do was finish our chances, and we
couldn't,” continued Quigg.
“We never moved the goalie, and instead hit it to her every
single time.”
The Ephs will
practice Monday and Tuesday, take a three-day break for
Thanksgiving, and then resume practice on Sunday. Williams
will head to North Carolina with three completely unfamiliar teams
waiting.
"They won't know
our style of play, or who is good at what," commented Gabrielle
Woodson.
"It is exciting
for us," said Sinnenberg. "It could be the best team we have
every played, and that helps us to prepare."
