WILLIAMSTOWN, MA— After a first period scoring frenzy, Williams halted a 2-game losing streak tonight. Four early goals in a span of 6 minutes gave the Ephs a lead they never relinquished, as they defeated non-conference rival Castleton State 6-1 tonight. Two goals apiece from senior Jacqueline Berglass and sophomore Sam Weinstein paved the way for the Williams win.
The Ephs notched the first score of the game about halfway through the opening period, when Berglass put home her first goal of the evening. After carrying the puck into the offensive zone and wristing a shot that was turned away by Castleton keeper Katharyn Dembowski, Berglass circled behind the cage to wait by the right post. Senior captain Lauren Zurek centered a hard pass from the left circle across the goal, which Berglass redirected for the score with 12:13 to play in the period.
"Once we got that first goal tonight, that was a huge confidence boost for us," Williams coach Joey Lye said, "We looked and felt a lot more comfortable out there."
Less than two minutes later Berglass recorded her second goal of the night, giving the Ephs a 2-0 lead. Freshman Haena Lee and classmate Gabrielle Vukasin worked the puck around the edge before Vukasin sent a pass into the low right corner, which Berglass again tipped past Dembowski.
Williams increased their cushion to 3 goals with 9:42 to play in the period, when Weinstein notched her fourth score of the season. Berglass and Vukasin teamed up for the assists, sliding the puck out to a waiting Weinstein on the blue line. Weinstein wound up and rocketed a hard slapshot in for the goal.
But the Ephs were not done with their first period scoring yet. With help from sophomore Becca Nichols and Weinstein, junior captain Hannah Systrom weaved through traffic and sent a wristshot from the slot that eluded Dembowski to give Williams the 4-0 advantage with just over 6 minutes remaining in the opening frame.
Castleton cut the Ephs' lead back down to three with 1:54 left before the end of the first period. Sophomore Jade Werger and freshman Stephanie Bardell moved the puck quickly through Williams' offensive zone, before Bardell ripped a shot. Ephs sophomore goalie Catherine Tremble turned away the initial attempt, but senior Laura Szwed was there to put home the rebound to give the Spartans a goal.
The second period featured back-and-forth play, with both teams creating good scoring opportunities. However, strong goaltending by Tremble and senior Amanda Hoy kept the middle period goalless until Vukasin notched Williams' 5th goal of the evening. In traffic, Vukasin picked up a loose puck in the low slot to make the score 5-1.
Weinstein notched her second goal of the game for the third period's lone tally. With 1:31 to play in the contest, sophomore Becca Nichols won a faceoff in the Spartans' offensive zone and sent the puck back to junior Kristen Tubbs. Tubbs gave the puck to Weinstein on the blue line, who fired a slapshot that bounced off the crossbar for a powerplay goal.
"We used our speed really well tonight," Lye said, "We played hard and didn't let up the intensity."
Tremble made 17 saves in net for the Ephs, while Dembrowski and Hoy combined for 37 stops for the Spartans.
With the win, Williams improves their record to 3-9 overall (2-6 NESCAC), while Castleton drops to 5-9-2 (3-6-1 ECAC). The Ephs will travel to Connecticut this weekend, as they take on NESCAC rivals Trinity and Wesleyan. The puck drops at 7 pm in the Koeppel Center on Friday night to kick off Williams' road trip against the #9 Bantams.
