Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA— Williams dropped a tough loss tonight against conference rival Middlebury. The Panthers, ranked 9th nationally, were helped by 2 goals from senior Anna McNally en route to the victory.
The Panthers got on the board early, with freshman Sara Ugalde notching Middlebury's first score of the night 4:13 into the game. Freshman goalie Rachel Nguyen stopped the initial shot by junior Grace Waters, but Ugalde was able to send home the rebound.
With Middlebury holding a 2-man advantage, McNally put the Panthers up 2-0 with 3:45 remaining in the first period. Junior Maggie Melberg, off a pass from sophomore Maggie Woodward, took a hard shot from the top of the right circle, which was turned away by Nguyen. McNally picked up the loose puck on the left post for Middlebury's second goal of the game.
The Ephs struggled a bit to find good offensive opportunities in the first period, managing 2 shots on net. Williams was strong in their defensive zone, however, making several nice plays to deny Middlebury's scoring chances.
The Panthers notched their third tally of the game 5:54 into the middle frame. With help from sophomore Lauren Greer, senior captain Julia Ireland wristed home a loose puck on the right post to bring Middlebury's lead to 3-0.
Williams had their best scoring opportunity of the period with about 4 minutes remaining in the second. Senior captain Lauren Zurek carried the puck in from the blue line on the left side, deking around a defender and ripping a hard wrist shot that was barely turned away by Panther goalie Alexi Bloom.
Middlebury would tally one more goal shortly after Zurek's shot to give the Panthers a 4-0 lead after two periods. Waters carried the puck up the left flank on a two-on-one, then centered a pass to McNally, who redirected the puck for the goal with 2:23 to play in the middle frame.
The Ephs had their strongest offensive period in the final frame, almost matching their shots on goal from the first 40 minutes. Williams held a two-man advantage early in the third period and created several solid scoring opportunites. Sam Weinstein fired four hard slapshots from the blue line, each deflected wide by Bloom. Ally Ensor and Sarah Herr also ripped several shots on net, but were again denied. Later in the period, Jacqueline Berglass weaved her way down the center of the ice for a one-on-one with a Panther defender, then wristed a high shot that was gloved by Bloom.
Greer picked up a tally of her own for Middlebury with 3:14 remaining. Receiving a pass from sophomore Madison Styrbicki inside the left circle, Greer wristed a high gloveside shot just over the reach of an outstretched Nguyen for Middlebury's last goal, finalizing the 5-0 score.
Nguyen racked up 49 saves in net for the Ephs, while her counterpart Bloom was credited with 13 stops.
Despite the score, Williams coach Joey Lye was happy with her team's improved play in the final frame. "We realized that the third period was on us," Lye said, "We knew we were going to have to turn it around and play hard for the final 20 minutes."
With the win, Middlebury improves to 10-3-1 overall (8-1-1 NESCAC), while Williams falls to 2-8 overall (2-6 NESCAC).
The Ephs will look to rebound tomorrow afternoon, when they travel to Utica to take on the Pioneers.
