Sideline Video: Pinard & Eisenhart
Postgame
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- After a rain-soaked 90
minutes, women's soccer walked away with a win against Keene State
today. Although Coach Michelyne Pinard said the weather and "slick"
surface "did not play to our strength" of possessing the ball, the
pouring rain could not stop the Ephs (6-2-1) as they beat the Owls
(8-3-2) 2-1.
Williams started the attack early when in the first five
minutes, both Sachi Siegelman
and Sara Wild
served long balls into the box to Brett
Eisenhart. Both were just a bit too far though, as Keene
State goalie Megan Dempsey came out and scooped up the ball before
Eisenhart could get to it. Williams stayed offensive and the
hard work paid off. Just 9:48 into the game, Sara Wild fired
a corner from the left side. Kara Duggan finished
the play with a header into the net for her first goal of the year.
Said Coach Pinard about Duggan's goal after the game, "The
quick goal helped us out. It settled us down. [Kara] has been
close [to scoring] so many times; it was nice to see her
finish." A few minutes later, Wild and Eisenhart had a
beautiful give-and-go that resulted in Wild's shot on goal.
Dempsey, however, came up with a big save to keep Williams to a
one-goal lead. Dempsey recorded seven saves on the day. Both
teams were very aggressive throughout the game, and it showed. With
26:23 to go in the first half, Keene State's Katie Bradford was
awarded a yellow card when she rammed into Williams goalie Julia Schreiber
after Schreiber had the ball in her hands. The card was the only
caution of a very physical game that included 22 fouls: 14 for
Williams and eight for Keene State.
Schreiber appeared unshaken, however, when just under two
minutes later, Jessica Berthiaume had a great look at the goal.
Schreiber threw herself at the ball to keep an Eph lead.
Keene State's best opportunity of the half came with 4:20 to
play. Katie Bradford fired a shot at the goal off of a
corner. The ball looked like it was going to sneak into the
net, when Williams freshman Hayley Cook
cleared it out. Duggan's early goal was enough for Williams to have
the lead going into halftime.
Coming out of halftime, both teams seemed
offensive-minded. It was Keene State, though, who got on the
board first. In the 51st minute, Schreiber came out to
make a save; as she went down, Berthiaume dribbled around her and
found the back of the net to tie the game at one all. Just
under ten minutes later, Williams responded. Off of a pass from Caitlyn Clark,
Eisenhart went one-on-one with the goalie and placed it around
Dempsey for her sixth goal of the year. Coach Pinard said
that even though Eisenhart "has been a little shaken the last few
games because she hasn't finished the way she wanted to," when "we
needed [a goal], she delivered."
Keene State continued to attack after going down a goal. With
just under 13 minutes to play, Hayley Kenyon looked like she might
make a run until Williams defender Chelsea Davies
cleared the ball out with her head. With 9:40 to play, it
looked as if Keene State had found the answer. Joan Hamel
booted a ball at the goal from the right side. It narrowly
missed the net as it went off the far post. The Ephs'
two-goal effort proved enough for the win.
Williams will see only league play for the last five games of
the regular season. Said Coach Pinard looking ahead, "Every time
we've stumbled in the past, we've gotten better, and we can keep
getting better. We're in a tight spot within the league, and we're
ready to do whatever it takes to come out on top at the end of the
season."
The Ephs will play away at Bates on Saturday.
