WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Ephs lost a heartbreaker today to the William Smith Herons in the fourth round of the NCAA tournament. After a scoreless first half, Brelynn Nasypany scored in the 65th minute. The goal was enough to send the Herons ahead to the Final Four in San Antonio in two weekends. The Ephs (15-4-2) lost to the Herons (18-2-3) earlier in the year 3-1.
Both teams came out ready to play in the first half. To begin the game, William Smith kept Williams on the defensive end. They had two corners in the opening three minutes. Sarah Taratino gave Eph fans a scare when her shot hit the crossbar and rolled around loose in the box 3:13 into the game. The Ephs were able to clear it out.
After the beginning several minutes, the Ephs were able to control the tempo more. 14:45 into the game, Brett Eisenhart had a good look at the goal, but the ball went just wide on the right side. A little while later, Hayley Cook managed to dribble through some defenders before the ball rolled over the end line. Nicole Stenquist had a shot in the first half as well, and Kara Duggan challenged Amanda Davis with the only shot on goal of the half. The Herons did a good job of containing Sara Wild, who has been unstoppable in the tournament, in the first half.
The Ephs played well defensively in the half. In addition to Duggan in the midfield, Sachi Siegelman and Elizabeth Danhakl both attacked the ball well. Anne Marie Burke and Chelsea Davies both managed to break up near breakaways. The Ephs looked to drop passes a lot to their backs with the Herons bringing the pressure up top.
Laura Wann had a great first half with four saves. Two of the saves came in the closing seconds. With eight seconds to play, Nasypany fired a shot at the net. Wann went down to make the save to the right of the goal, and the ball came loose. Renee Johnson had another look at the goal just as Wann got to her feet, but Wann quickly dove on the ball to keep the score at 0-0 going into the half.
The second half showed just as much grit and hard work from both teams. The Ephs came out especially aggressive with five shots in the opening eight minutes – nearly twice the number of shots they had in the first 45. The Ephs' best look at the net came with 29 minutes to play when Wild lined up a corner on the left side. Duggan, on the near post, out leaped her defender and headed the ball down and toward the middle of the goal. Heron keeper Davis stopped the ball on the goal line, and it ricocheted out a few feet. Tyler Rainer slid onto the rebound, but the ball sailed over the crossbar. Said Duggan about the play after the game, "I did get a head on the ball, and Tyler did a great job getting to the rebound. We just got unlucky. That's soccer. We had our chances and they had their chances, and they just happened to score on one. I think everyone played today like it was the last game of their last season -- especially the younger players -- it just didn't go our way."
Just over four minutes later, the Herons found the answer. Jensen passed the ball from the center of the box to Nasypany who took a quick step to her left and fired a bullet back into the right corner of the goal to give the Herons the 1-0 lead. Coach Michelyne Pinard talked about the goal after the game: "We wanted to make sure we were clean defensively while trying to find our attacking seams. When (Nasypany) gets a step on you, it seems like a yard. She actually did not have a lot of space (on the goal) but took full advantage of what little space she had."
Following the goal, the Ephs continued to pressure the Herons on the offensive end. In the 71st and 79th minutes, freshman Carla Nicasio put shots on net. Davis came up with the save both times. The Ephs' final opportunity came on a shot by Sara Wild with just under 10 minutes to play. The shot went wide. Wild, Nicasio, Stenquist, and Eisenhart each had two shots for the Ephs in the game. Julia Schreiber had two saves for the Ephs in the second half. Coach Pinard commented, "We had a difficult time finding our rhythm offensively. They were beating us to balls we typically get to first. They played incredibly well; I honestly think that, today, the better team won. But if we played them 10 times, I think we'd win five and they'd win five."
This year's senior class – Burke, Danhakl, Duggan, Annie Neil, Rainer, Jacqueline Russo, Annelise Snyder, Schreiber, and Wild – finish their careers with an all-time record of 70-7-3 and an NCAA tournament record of 9-4. Said coach Michelyne Pinard after the game, "These 9 seniors really changed the program so we owe a lot to them. That was the hardest part, seeing their faces after the game and knowing this was it for them… They changed the program from the day they stepped on campus. Not only are they all very talented, but they are all great teammates. They all played different roles, and some liked those roles and some did not, but they all made themselves part of the fabric of the program. They're just a special group, individually and collectively, and they'll hold a special place in our hearts for sure." Said Duggan after playing in the final game of her career, "Overall this was the most closely matched game we've been eliminated in. At this point, it's early too look back, but when you think of the 4 NESCAC titles, 4 NCAA Tournament appearances --one final four, one elite eight, two sweet 16s -- it's a tribute to the senior class, a tribute to Michelyne, who really turned this program around."
