WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. The Ephs (2-2, 1-2 NESCAC) put together
a strong team performance to edge out Colby (2-2, 1-2 NESCAC)
Saturday afternoon at Renzie-Lamb Field. Each half ended in
ties as each team responded with consecutive goals in attempts to
gain control of the competition, but Williams took the victory six
minutes into overtime to claim their first NESCAC win on the
season.
Williams opened the first frame with a hard-hitting
offensive line tallying 10 shots to Colby's 1. Their
aggressive played paid off 12:14 into the half when Karyn Moss
(Medfield, Mass.) tapped the ball in giving the Ephs their first
lead of the day. Williams continued to control the half until
with 28 seconds remaining Colby junior Kelly Roth brought the score
to a 1-1 draw entering into the second period. The Ephs led
the half with a 5-2 penalty corner advantage.
Five minutes into the second half, Meryl Poulin of Colby had a
shot diverted by Eph goalie Katrina Tulla (New Canaan,
Conn.). The rebound was picked up by Mule forward Olivia
Lattanzi and directed back towards the goal where Williams junior
Meera Sivalingam (Philadelphia, Penn.) stepped in for Tulla to
tally her first of two defensive saves on the game.
The defensive momentum catalyzed two key offensive plays that
led to the biggest lead of the day for Williams. At 51:26,
Sivalingam passed to Margie Fulton (Wellesley, Mass.) off a penalty
corner insertion to gain a 2-1 advantage. Less than a minute
passed before Eph sophomore Katie Pettengill (South Hadley, Mass.)
found the back of the net at 52:17 giving the Ephs a 2 point
lead.
The Mules responded to the Ephs' back to back goals with
two of their own returning the competition to a tied score at
3-3. Heather Quadir notched the first of two goals in the
second frame for the Mules at 60:02 unassisted. Just over two
minutes later, Courtney Erskine built on the Mule's offensive
spark at 62:09 off an assist by Lattanzi using the Ephs depleted
numbers to their advantage. Fulton was rewarded a 5 minute
penalty due to a second green card briefly leaving the Ephs short
one member.
With less than ten minutes remaining in the regulation game, a
sense of urgency kicked in for both teams as they battled for
possession and ownership of the final goal that would tip the game
in their favor. The Ephs attempted to secure the game-winner
on the final penalty corner as the clock counted down the final 30
seconds, but a defensive save by Roth took the competition into
sudden death overtime. For the half, Colby tallied 5 penalty
corners over Williams' 3 and had a 12-4 shot advantage.
The Ephs offensive line took off running in overtime with a 3-0
shot lead and 3 consecutive penalty corners that led to a goal 6:18
into the period. The third penalty corner led to a shot by
Sivalingam and rebound off Mule goalie Liz Fontaine (Wilbraham,
Mass.). Eph sophomore Nicolle Perry (Yorktown, NY) picked up
the loose ball in traffic and tipped in the game winning goal for
the 4-3 victory.
Goalies Tulla and Fontaine each played the full 70
minutes in the net as well as the 6:18 overtime. Fontaine
tallied 7 saves and 4 goals allowed. Tulla had 5 saves and 3
goals allowed.
"Today we really capitalized on the things we've
focused on in practice that ultimately led to a great team
effort. NESCAC games are consistently tough, but we came to
play and we got it done," commented Alix Burrale on the game.
The Ephs will play again this Wednesday at home versus
Springfield at 6PM.
