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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Regional host Williams College
dominated Keuka College, 5-0, in the opening round of the NCAA
Tournament and will face off against Oneonta State tomorrow at 1:00
p.m. Williams remains one of two teams in the
nation who has not lost or tied a game this
season.
The
Ephs, who are currently ranked second in the latest NSCAA rankings,
won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC)
Tournament championship for the third straight year to earn a berth
into the NCAA Tournament.
The
Keuka College Storm were making their second straight appearance in
the NCAA Tournament after finishing second to Penn State-Harrisburg
in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Tournament this
past weekend. The Storm posted a 10-9 overall record and recorded
an 8-2 mark in the NEAC.
Williams were visibly dominant even under an
often equalizing wet and rainy field, controlling the ball and
maintaining possession in their half of the field for nearly the
entire contest.
On paper, the Ephs were equally
overpowering, out shooting Keuka 43-1 and tallying 15 corner
kicks.
“We came to play,” said
Williams' head coach Michelyne Pinard. “This is NCAA tourney time, and
it's all about showing up and competing and we're glad
that we were able to come out today and get on the board
early. We expect to be perfect on days like this,
but it's not a fair expectation because you can't be
perfect. We just play the way we like to play, and
are enjoying the opportunity to be in the
tournament,”
Two
goal efforts from senior captain Sarah Walmsley and star scorer
Bret Eisenhart propelled the Ephs to victory. Walmsley scored the first goal of the game
at 15:23 after collecting a quick pass from Tyler Rainer directly
in front of net, and nailing a shot to the top right
corner.
Eisenhart followed with her first goal
fifteen minutes later. After dribbling free from her defender, the
sophomore forward laced a slow roller that slipped past the
goalkeeper's hands and into net for the two-goal
advantage. Williams could have potentially doubled
their first-half lead, but had two goals whistled back by offside
calls.
Eisenhart picked up right where she left off
in the first half, scoring nine minutes into the second period off
a savvy follow up play. Teammate Brianna Wolfson took a shot that
nailed the post, and Eisenhart reacted quickly to squeeze the
deflected ball just inside the left post for her second goal of the
game.
Walmsley followed with her second goal at
61:30 off a two-on-two fast break with Annelise
Snyder. Snyder took the ball up field, with Walmsley
trailing on her right side. Snyder passed the ball to her
teammate's far right, and Walmsley raced outside of her
defender to collect the pass and score. Christine Jones scored the Eph's fifth
goal, and her first goal of the season, off a corner kick in the
81st
minute of
play.
Keuka
College finishes their season with a 10-9 record. Williams ups their undefeated record to
18-0.
“This is a very exciting time of
year,” commented Pinard. “We are thrilled to be able to play
against the best teams in the country. We will take it game by game, and hopefully
get to play in Texas.”
