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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - It was a close match between
the Ephs and the Thoroughbreds at the half, but Williams took over
the action in the third quarter and outscored Skidmore 4-1 en route
to a 12-8 non-conference victory. The Ephs are now winners of their
last three and now stand just under the .500 mark at 4-5 overall,
while Skidmore, who have dropped their last three games, are
hovering just over .500 with a 5-4 record.
Skidmore was coming off a tough overtime loss to RPI, but they
had a full week of rest coming into this evening's matchup at
Renzie Lamb Field. The Ephs had only a couple days to recharge from
a physical contest against Amherst this past Saturday, an important
8-4 win.
"It was a short turnover for us and we knew we were in for a
hard game against these guys," said Eph head coach George
McCormack. "They're a tough opponent and they were well-rested, so
this was a good win for our confidence."
As on Saturday, Williams got off to a quick start, as sophomore
attacker Tommy Murray found freshman attacker Sam Hargrove in front
for the first strike of the match at 14:29. Murray connected with
junior attacker Richard Reuter two minutes later, and he fired in a
perimeter blast to put the Ephs up 2-0. But Skidmore would answer
with back-to-back goals of their own. Senior Nick Coppola found a
shooting lane and scored from the top of the box to put the
Thoroughbreds on the board. Junior attacker Matt Levesque threw a
cross-field diagonal pass to junior attacker Rob Lutin, who
finished the play to knot the score at two. Levesque followed up
with an unassisted score just fifteen seconds later to give
Skidmore their only lead. The Ephs retook the momentum
towards the end of the quarter when Reuter peeled out from behind
the net and whipped a shot into the top half of the cage
to even things up again at three.
The second quarter was a quiet frame, as both teams only managed
one goal. Freshman Michael Acierno scooted past a defender into
shooting space and bounced in a shot, but sophomore midfielder
Jeremy Goldman responded as he took a long pass from Matt Levesque
and fired it home to level the score at four. Scoring in the first
half would have been more prolific if not for some impressive saves
by both Eph senior goalie Michael Gerbush and Skidmore junior
goalie Flip Bongaerts, who kept the action close by denying
point-blank bullets and give-and-go rushes respectively.
In the third, the Ephs offense began to overmatch the
Thoroughbred defense. Murray recovered a loose ball at the side of
the net and found sophomore midfielder Matt Cranshaw directly in
front of Bongaerts for a goal. Later in the frame, Hargrove's
double-juke maneuver put him in open space, and he ripped a pretty
underhand strike into the top corner. During the subsequent
extra-man opportunity, Hargrove hooked up with Reuter from behind
the cage to make it three unanswered scores. After an unassisted
goal by senior Tom Levesque, Cranshaw cut to the net with time
running out and drilled home a feed from Acierno to give the Ephs a
three-goal advantage going into the final period.
Reuter tallied another assist at the top of the quarter on a
give to sophomore attacker David Hawley, who fired it over
Bongaerts shoulder. It seemed that Skidmore might make a push for a
comeback after Tom Levesque scored his second unassisted goal of
the match. But Williams would put it away with three consecutive
scores, including two highlight-reel type goals: a reverse, no-look
strike by senior Brian Morrissey and a behind-the-back feed from
Murray to senior attacker Kevin Connolly, who finished the play for
the Ephs final goal. The Thoroughbreds would put in two more goals
but in a last-ditch effort, but they could not overcome the
late-game six-goal deficit and fell by a final of 12-8.
"It was a team win today," remarked McCormack. "We had too many
turnovers and our execution was sloppy at times, but guys picked
each other up and we were fortunate enough to come away with the
win. I think sometimes we try too hard and it works against us, but
we found a way to get it done and that's all that matters.
"We're really looking forward to our matchup next weekend
against Bowdoin. They're an aggressive team and it'll be another
important conference test for this team. We'll have to show more
poise than we did this evening if we want to continue this streak."
That contest will be a held at Renzie Lamb Field in Williamstown
this Saturday. The action will begin at 12PM.
