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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- The Williams College Ephs
(11-10-2) looked as confident as they have all year this evening
against Colby College (3-15-5), firing 40 shots on net on their way
to a 3-0 shutout victory over the Mules. This crucial bounce back
win spots the purple and gold in a tie for fourth place in the
conference with Bowdoin College. The Ephs and Polar Bears battle
tomorrow afternoon to decide which team hosts the first round of
the NESCAC tournament.
"We put forth a great effort tonight in all facets of the game,"
praised Eph head coach Marissa O'Neil. "We knew Colby had nothing
to lose and that they were going to come at us with everything they
had.... They attacked us pretty hard in the opening minutes but we
were able to force the play into their zone and started to tire
them out, which helped us out a lot later in the game."
While the majority of the first frame was devoid of goals, it
certainly was not devoid of action, as both sides came inches from
lighting the lamp. Colby junior goalie Loni Pisani nearly allowed a
hard backhander to elude her grasp, but she dove on the floating
puck just as it was heading towards the goal line. Moments later,
Eph sophomore forward Eliza Foster barely missed the open side on a
2-on-1 set up from senior Torrey Taussig. Colby countered these
efforts during a loose-puck scramble in front of senior netminder
Sara Plunkett that resulted in the spinning disk trickling a hair
wide of the post.
The anticipation was finally resolved in the final minute of the
period, when power-play quarterback Sam Weinstein stepped into a
drive from the middle of the blue line. The low blast created a big
rebound of the pad of Pisani, and veteran forward Tracey Ferriter
gathered the puck, measured the angle, and sniped a wrister over
her shoulder to put Williams ahead 1-0.
Unlike the first score, the second Eph winner did not take the
entire period to materialize. While the squads skated four-a-side,
Taussig made a move and found space between the circles, but her
try was blocked by a Colby defender. The ricochet took a fortunate
bounce however, and the puck settled on the blade of a streaking
Nicole Perry. The rookie's quick release beat Pisani for to
give her 7 goals on the season. Junior Allison Page earned an
assist on the play as well.
The Taussig-Page combo would make good again in the final period,
this time on the power-play. Quick puck movement on the
man-advantage freed up a shooting lane for the Weinstein and her
deadly shot. The freshman made full use of the opportunity by
cranking a wrister towards the goal, and a kind deflection gave her
a 5th score on the season. It also placed a pretty bow on the Eph
victory, as they cruised for the remainder of regulation to the 3-0
shutout win.
Plunkett made just 13 saves in the contest, but she also made
several huge stops in difficult situations to keep the momentum on
the Ephs' side.
“The teams that we face from here on out are all going to
get the puck to the net,” acknowledged O'Neil,
“and that's why it's so important to have someone
like Sara in net. Our team has such confidence in her
ability…it really gives our offense more confidence to play
aggressively and helps us maintain composure.”
Tomorrow's Saturday afternoon matchup against Bowdoin will indeed
decide who hosts the first round of the NESCAC tournament, as they
will face each other again for that playoff showdown. It also marks
senior day for the purple and gold, and the 3PM game may be the
last career home game for Plunkett, Ferriter, Taussig, and Kait
O'Brien. These players will be honored prior to the start of
regulation with a center-ice ceremony that should provide a lift of
emotion for the entire team.
When asked how she felt about going toe-to-toe with her alma-mater
tomorrow and in the NESCAC quarterfinals, O'Neil simply
responded that “it should be interesting.”
