Box
Score
NEW LONDON, CT -- The Ephs snapped a three-game losing streak
this afternoon at Conn. College as they outmatched the Camels 11-7
for the win. Williams is now 2-5 overall with a 2-3 mark in
the conference while Conn. College falls to 3-6 and remain winless
in NESCAC conference games at 0-5.
"I'm very proud of the way the guys played out there today,"
remarked Eph head coach George McCormack. "This was a big win
for us and we had a lot of important contributions from different
players."
Williams outshot the Camels 41-32 on the game and dominated the
battle for ground balls 32-19. The faceoff matchup, which
McCormack noted as a major element to the win, had Williams ahead
13-9. The Ephs also cashed in on all three of their extra-man
opportunities, while Conn. College was 1-3 on the day.
"Corey Jacobs did an outstanding job for us with the faceoffs,"
praised McCormack, "and it had a huge impact on the game.
Michael Gerbush also was big for us and made several key saves to
keep us in front."
Gerbush had a total of 9 saves in the match while freshman
counterpart John Lenehan made 11 stops in 39 minutes
for the Camels filling in for Rob Moccia.
Camels attacker Ryan Hayes opened the scoring in the first as
Eric Doran connected with him to give Conn. College their first and
only lead of the game. The Ephs responded five minutes later
when Sam Hargrove drove home an unassisted goal. Mike Ryan
fed Matt Cranshaw later in the period to give Williams a lead that
they held for the duration of the match. Hargrove had 3 goals
and an assist on the day while Cranshaw registered a pair of scores
and an assist. Mark Mangano fired in an unassisted strike
with under three minutes left to tie the score at 2.
The second quarter was all Ephs, as the squad went on a 5-0 run
in the 15-minute span. Cranshaw took a pass from Hargrove and
put it past Moccia to make it a 3-2 game. Four minutes later
Tommy Murray found attacker David Hawley in a shooting and he
rifled in his first score of the day. From the ensuing
faceoff, Ryan Powell gathered the ground ball and took it all the
way to the net himself for an unassisted goal. Richard Reuter
and Hargrove rounded off the barrage with unassisted scores.
After halftime, the Camels resumed play with a sense of urgency,
as senior Ben Eischen rallied for three consecutive goals to bring
the camels within two. After George David netted another shot
for Conn. College, it looked as if the Ephs might let their large
lead slip away, but Hawley came through in a clutch moment and
scored with just six seconds remaining in the period. Within
the opening minute of the fourth, Hawley struck again to bring the
Eph lead back up to three. The Camels were only able to score
once more in the quarter, as Williams struck twice more and cruised
to an 11-7 victory.
"This was a huge win for the program and it was critical for our
team confidence to bounce back today after a string of tough
losses," said McCormack. "This was also an important game in
regards to tie-breakers for the playoffs...overall, I am very happy
with the outcome of today's events."
The Ephs will host the archrival Amherst this Saturday at Renzie
Lamb Field. The action will begin at 1PM and it should prove
to be a very physical, very intense, playoff-type game.
