WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Meghan Gillis and the Williams Ephs avenged yesterday's loss, downing NESCAC rival Wesleyan this afternoon at Lansing-Chapman Arena, 5-4. Two goals from sophomore Gabrielle Vukasin and a late tally from Cristina Bravi helped the Ephs to the win.
It was Williams who got on the board first, thanks to freshman Nitsan Goldstein's (Ithaca, NY) first collegiate goal. Senior captain Eliza Foster (Chatham, MA) and Kate Foley (Billerica, MA) worked the puck around the perimeter, taking advantage of an Eph powerplay. Foster sent a shot on cage that was deflected into traffic and picked up by Goldstein, who sent the puck home to put Williams up 1-0 2:57 into the game.
Wesleyan fought back, retaliating with the equalizer less than 3 minutes later. Junior Kelsey Muller (Sunapee, NH) carried the puck up ice and ripped a shot on Eph netminder Rachel Nguyen (Hermosa Beach, CA). Freshman forward Jordan Schildhaus (Woodbury, NY) was there for the tip, deflecting the puck past Nguyen to tie the score at 1-1.
Wesleyan finalized first period scoring with 17.6 seconds left to play, thanks to a nifty goal from Jill Reynolds (Medina, MN). Reynolds carried the puck behind the net, then wrapped a backhand shot just under the pads of a sliding Nguyen to bring the game to 2-1 in the Cardinals' favor.
Midway through the 2nd period, the Cardinals upped their lead to 3-1, thanks to a Laura Wasnick (North Olmstead, OH) powerplay goal. With 11:05 remaining in the middle frame, Reynolds ripped a shot from the right point, which Wasnick was able to get a stick on to give the Cardinals the 2-goal lead. Williams fought back hard, peppering Corvi with shots in an attempt to keep the pressure on.
The Ephs' perseverance, however, paid off, and a deflection by Kristen Tubbs (Garden City, NY) closed the score to 3-2. Wesleyan goalie Ashleigh Corvi (Barrington, RI) made the initial stop on first-year Caitlin Conlon's (Sudbury, MA) shot from the low right side. The puck bounced off Corvi's pads into the slot and was picked up by Tubbs, who found the back of the net to notch the Ephs' second goal of the game with 10:27 to play in the period.
26 seconds after Tubbs' tally made it a one-goal game, the Ephs struck again. Williams controlled the puck off a faceoff in Wesleyan's defensive zone. The puck was sent back to sophomore Ally Ensor (Sugarland, TX) on the left point, who sent a hard slapshot at the goal. Gabrielle Vukasin (Princeton, NJ) managed to deflect the shot past Corvi, and just like that the game was knotted up again.
Less than 2 minutes into the final period, Wesleyan again was able to claim the lead. Senior Becca Snelling (Newbury, MA) sent a shot on cage that was tipped by senior Julia Mulhern (Winchester, MA) in front of the net to make the game 4-3 in Wesleyan's favor.
Vukasin recorded her second goal of the game to knot up the score at 4-4 with 13:48 remaining in the game. Senior Kristen Tubbs (Garden City, NY) and Cristina Bravi (Montreal, QC) worked the puck to Vukasin on the left post, who found the open space around Corvi for the equalizer.
The Ephs took the lead for the first time since the 1st period, capitalizing on a Wesleyan penalty for the second straight goal. Sam Weinstein (Marblehead, MA) received the puck on the left point, then walked the puck in closer and sent a pass to a waiting Bravi on the low right side. Corvi, on the opposite post, couldn't slide over in time, and Bravi capitalized on the wide-open net. With 7:25 to play, the Ephs would not relinquish the lead.
Solid penalty-killing helped the Ephs maintain the 5-4 score, denying Wesleyan attempts during a 5-on-3 and a man-up advantage during the final 5 minutes of the game. Williams' 44 shots, compared to Wesleyan's 26, allowed the Ephs to keep the pressure on Corvi and the Cardinals for most of the game.
Head coach Meghan Gillis credits the attention that the Ephs placed on the fundamentals as instrumental to her team's win this afternoon. "We emphasized working together, doing the simple things right, and knowing where each other were on the ice today," Gillis observed.
Corvi finished with 39 saves, while Nguyen recorded 27 saves in net for the Ephs for the second straight night.
"We placed a huge emphasis on winning battles," Gillis remarked, "We wanted to make sure that every time you're going up against someone, you're focusing on that battle and making sure we're doing all we can to get the pucks in the net."
The Ephs have an 8-day hiatus before taking on Utica in a non-conference match-up at 3 pm in Lansing-Chapman Arena.
