WILLIAMSTOWN, MA— Despite outshooting the Cardinals 35-27, Williams fell in their opening contest to Little Three rival Wesleyan, 5-3. The Ephs controlled play for the final minutes of the game, but fell short of a comeback.
Wesleyan got off to a hot start, capitalizing on their first shot. The Cardinals controlled the puck off the opening faceoff, sending play deep into the Ephs' zone. From the low point, M.J. Cardin (Middletown, M.D.) sent a pass to the left post, which sophomore Jenna Vanderlinden (Tenafly, N.J.) was able to tip past Eph netminder Rachel Nguyen (Hermosa Beach, C.A.) to give Wesleyan a 1-0 advantage 18 seconds into play.
The Cardinals again found the back of the net during the opening frame, this time with 8:33 remaining in the period. At the right point, freshmen Jordan Schildhaus (Woodbury, N.Y.) sent the puck to junior Becca Koppel (Huntington Beach, C.A.). Koppel then rocketed a shot on cage, which was then deflected to the top right corner by Kelsey Muller (Sunapee, N.H.).
Williams bounced back under 4 minutes later to close the Cardinals' lead to 2-1. The Ephs were given their powerplay opportunity of the season, a chance that they made the most of. Williams controlled play, sending the puck to Sarah Herr (Princeton, N.J.). Herr fired a strong wrist shot from the point, which Gabrielle Vukasin (Princeton, N.J.) redirected past Wesleyan goalie Ashleigh Corvi (Barrington, R.I.). The teams would exchange opportunities as the period came to a close, leaving the Ephs in a one-goal hole.
The Ephs evened things up early in the 2nd period, with sophomore Haena Lee (Bethesda, M.D.) recording her first goal of the season. Classmate Ally Ensor (Sugarland, T.X.) carried the puck to the low right side, then sent a nice cross across the slot to Lee, who one-timed a shot to knot up the score at 2-2 only 5:20 into the middle frame.
Both teams kept up the intensity as the period went on, featuring several nice saves from goalies on both ends of the ice. Corvi denied several Eph attempts, while Nguyen made two point-blank saves at the end of the period to maintain the score at 2-2. With a little over 2 minutes to play in the period, Cardinal captain Jill Reynolds (Medina, M.N.) corralled a loose puck in the slot, then tried to flip a backhand past Nguyen, who denied the attempt. With about 25 seconds remaining, Schildhaus wristed a shot from the low slot, which Nguyen was again able to turn away to keep the game knotted up.
Wesleyan struck again to kick off the scoring in the third, although the Ephs were not far behind. The Cardinals' Caitlin Bray (Lincoln, R.I.) sent a cross-ice pass to Muller, who carried the puck down the right wing into the Ephs' offensive zone, then sent a high shot into the net with 15:21 remaining.
Williams struck back just over a minute later, when junior Aimee Dennett (Highlands Ranch, C.O.) found the back of the net with 14:17 to play. The Ephs peppered Corvi with shots, with senior captain Eliza Foster (Chatham, M.A.) and freshmen Andrea Heller testing the Cardinal keeper first, but Dennett was able to control a loose puck on the right post and slide in a goal to again even the contest, this time at 3-3.
The Cardinals were able to again regain the lead, this time for good, with 9:40 to play. A penalty on Williams' Kate Foley (Billerica, M.A.) left the Ephs shorthanded, giving Wesleyan a man-up opportunity that they were able to capitalize on. Schildhaus took a carried the puck on the low left side, finding the open space around Nguyen to put the Cardinals up 4-3.
Williams fought hard to even the score, testing Corvi with 14 shots in the third. The Ephs stepped up the pressure in the final minute and a half, forcing Corvi to make save after save. However, the Cardinals were able to clear the puck out of their defensive zone and set up Muller for her second goal of the game, an empty-netter to finalize the score at 5-3.
Nguyen made 22 saves in net for the Ephs, while Wesleyan counterpart Corvi turned away 32 Eph bids.
"As you could see by the last minute and a half of play, we have all the pieces that we need to have a great team. When we're on, we're on, but we have some work ahead of us in order to reach that level," Williams first-year head coach Meghan Gillis remarked after her first game behind the helm of the Ephs.
Gillis pointed to strong efforts from the first-years and forwards, who kept a high level of pressure throughout the game. Gillis was impressed with the flashes of promising play shown by her team, adding, "We showed glimpses of our potential tonight, and how well we can play as a group. We just need to keep up our on-ice communication, and the rest will come with time."
The Ephs get a chance to redeem themselves tomorrow afternoon at 3 pm, again taking on the Cardinals in Lansing-Chapman Arena.
