Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. – Williams
men's lacrosse was unable to stop Conn. College's
undefeated streak at home tonight, as the Ephs fell to the Camels
7-6 in a tightly contested game. The Ephs fell to 4-4 on the season
and 3-2 in the NESCAC, while the Camels, ranked No. 10 in the
country and second in New England, moved to a perfect 9-0 on the
season 5-0 in the conference.
The game was even all over the field, as the Ephs had 31 ground
balls and 39 shots while the Camels had 32 ground balls and 39
shots of their own. Stephen Vrla stopped 11 Camel shots for
Williams, while Rob Moccia had 15 in net for Conn. Mike Ryan and
Sam Hargrove led the Eph attack, combining for 3 goals and 4
assists, while Steve Dachille spearheaded the Camel offense with 4
goals.
Richard Reuter started the Ephs' scoring 2:04 into the
game, whipping the ball through Moccia's legs off an assist
from Brian Wrapp. The Ephs couldn't build on Reuter's
goal, however, as the Camels scored four unanswered goals before
the end of the period. Dachille led the Camels' attack in the
first with 2 goals.
Williams turned the tide in the second 15 minutes, as the team
answered Connecticut's first-period barrage with a
four-goal offensive burst of its own. Ryan opened the scoring for
the Ephs 1:39 into the period with a shot from the left into the
top right of the net off an assist from Hargrove. Hargrove and Ryan
then combined again, as Ryan dropped the ball off to Hargrove
behind the net and Hargrove dove in front of the net to put the
ball past Moccia in the bottom right corner 5:12 into the period.
Tim Goggins scored the next goal for the Ephs, as Eph goaltender
Stephen Vrla cleared the ball to Matt Cranshaw at midfield before
Cranshaw tossed the ball to Ryan, who fed Goggins behind the net
before Goggins cut in front and scored to tie the game up at 4-4
with 6:44 to play in the period. Jacobs then finished off the
scoring for the half six seconds later, winning the face-off and
cutting down field before whipping a bounce-shot past Moccia to
make the score 5-4.
The third quarter saw both offenses relatively quiet. Williams
was unable to add to its lead and Conn. maintained possession for
most of the period. Dachille scored his third of the game with 5:22
to remaining in the third, but Vrla and Moccia fended off every
other shot in the period, and the teams ended the third tied up at
5-5.
Both teams remained cold as the fourth quarter opened, before
Dachille scored his fourth of game with 8:10 to play in the game to
retake the lead for the Camels 6-5. The Ephs were able to respond
five minutes later, as Ryan and Hargrove again combined for a goal:
Hargrove took advantage of a Camels turnover, picking up the ground
ball at midfield and flinging it to Ryan, who cut down the left and
fired a left-handed shot by Moccia for his second goal of the game,
making the score 6-6. The Camels refused to cede the game, however,
and Eric Doran put them in front with 1:10 to play, receiving the
ball from behind the net and flinging it past Vrla to give
Connecticut the lead. The goal wound up clinching the game, as the
Ephs had two shots on goal stopped in the final minute, and the
game ended in the Camels' 7-6 victory.
“I thought we had a slow start – we scored first,
but after the first goal we didn't really catch the
momentum,” said Eph head coach George McCormack. “It
was a very competitive game, and the teams were evenly matched, and
I thought both goalies played well.
McCormack noted that the Ephs' offensive execution was the
team's greatest challenge. “The difference in the game
was our shot selection and quality of shots we took,” he
said.
The team will look to rebound from the loss this weekend on the
road against Amherst at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“We don't have to talk about getting excited about
Amherst,” said McCormack. “We know they're a good
team and it's a great rivalry. We are going to show up and
give our best effort, and we are going try to clean up some of the
things from this game in terms of shot selection. We have to have a
short memory and be able to bounce back.”
