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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – In
the Ephs' most highly contested game of the season,
first-year Bridget Gallagher scored with 26 seconds left in
regulation to notch the game winning goal for the Williams
women's soccer team (9-0-0, 5-0-0 in the NESCAC) against the
visiting Bates Bobcats (3-5-1, 1-4-0).
Leading by a one-goal margin for nearly the
entire contest, the Ephs could not seem to find the back of the net
in the second period.
Bates' Tina Tobin scored to knot the game with just 2:45 on
the clock, shocking the 3rd-ranked Ephs and the home
crowd.
Tobin played up front for the whole game,
typically contested by two or three Ephs defenders. The Bobcats
forward found herself one-on-one outside of the 18-yard box in
center field, and got a shot off that sailed to the top left corner
over a leaping Ephs keeper. When it looked as
though the Ephs winning streak might come to an end, Williams
responded with the last-second score to up their record to 9-0 and
to remain undefeated in conference play.
“After the Bates goal, I thought
'We'll see what we're made of now',” said
Williams' head coach Michelyne Pinard.
“I was pleased with our urgency, but our urgency needed to
come about eighty-seven minutes sooner. We have
to make sure that we learn from this moment.”
The Ephs played fairly well in the opening
period, dominating time on the ball and limiting Bates to just one
shot on goal. The
first goal of the game came at 18:06. Annie Neil
played a cross from the right side, and Bret Eisenhart collected
the ball at center field before attempting at shot at
goal. Sara Wild was able to calm
Eisennhart's deflected ball, and ripped a shot to the
opposite corner for the 1-0 lead. It appeared to
be another routine start to another dominating Ephs performance,
but the half would close with the Ephs still ahead by only one
goal.
“That is soccer,” commented
Pinard, in regards to her team's first half
play. “We have been lucky in that we have
been successful at converting our chances thus far, but it happens
sometimes where you can't, and that's just the nature
of the game.”
Bates came out in the second half looking
empowered. Down by
only one score against such a talented team, morale was high and
the Bobcats began to attack the ball and created more opportunities
for themselves at net.
“Bates came at us and put more pressure
on us,” said Pinard. “We
didn't take care of the ball, and had we done that, it would
be have taken care of a lot of our problems. But
Bates tends to be a resilient team that feeds off their own
momentum. The longer they feel they are in the
game, the better they play and the more confident and effective
they became.”
After Bates tied the game, the final two
minutes of play looked like a return to typical Williams
soccer. Brianna
Wolfson found an open Eisenhart, who laced a shot to the right
corner of net.
Bates' keeper dove to stop it, managed to halt it for a
moment, but the ball came loose behind her.
Gallagher, smartly positioned on the right post, tapped the loose
ball in to put the Ephs ahead, 2-1.
Williams will host Trinity tomorrow at noon on
Cole Field in a match that will be webcast live on TEAMLINE.
