MIDDLEBURY, VT—The undefeated Middlebury Panthers downed Williams this afternoon 3-0, capitalizing on 2 of their 7 powerplays.
Just 6:39 into the game, sophomore Heather Marrison notched her first goal of the game to give the Panthers the 1-0 lead. Marrison took a pass from senior Heidi Woodworth off a faceoff and wristed the puck past Eph netminder Catherine Tremble.
Two penalties on Middlebury gave the Ephs a 5-on-3 advantage later in the opening frame, but Williams was unable to capitalize. Tremble turned away 13 Middlebury shots in the first period, while senior Alexi Bloom stopped the 3 Eph attempts that she faced.
Maggie Woodward gave the Panthers a two-goal lead in the middle frame, wristing a shot past Tremble 10:57 into the second period. Junior McKenzie Stevens carried the puck out of the Middlebury defensive zone and passed to Marrison. The sophomore then played the puck across to Woodward on the right side, who managed to take advantage of the 2-on-1 opportunity.
Williams had a chance to get on the board late in the 2nd, when sophomore Sam Weinstein and junior Eliza Foster took on a sole Panther defender deep in the Middlebury defensive zone; however, Bloom managed to slide across her crease to deny Weinstein's attempt.
Middlebury notched their second powerplay goal with 11:55 remaining in the contest. Marrison tallied her second goal of the game, picking up a loose puck in the slot and shooting one past Tremble to finish off the scoring.
The Panthers managed to outshoot the Ephs 33-10, with Bloom stopping every shot sent her way. Tremble was stellar in net, recording 30 saves between the pipes for Williams.
Despite the loss, Williams coach Joey Lye was pleased with her team's effort. "Everyone played really hard today," Lye said, "We made some system changes, and I was proud that the girls were able to make the adjustments and play well."
Williams falls to 1-5 overall (1-4 NESCAC), while the win brings the Panthers to 6-0 overall (5-0 NESCAC).
The Ephs have a three-day break before hosting Utica on Wednesday night at 7 pm.
