SCHENECTADY, NY––Williams (4-3, 1-2 NESCAC) fell 8-7 to Union College (2-3, 0-0 Liberty League) with one second remaining in overtime. The game went into overtime after two Williams goals tied the game with 5:06 remaining.
Freshman Rebecca McGovern led the Ephs with 3 goals, while fellow freshmen Emily Jablonski and Emily Whicker contributed a goal each. Jablonski also added an assist. Sophomores Nicolle Perry and Katie Pettengill also scored. Senior goalkeeper Julia Schreiber played 66 minutes and made 8 saves.
Head Coach Chris Mason said "Schreiber did a great job, and defensively we did a great job. We had more freshman playing because we have some injured players. All of the freshmen playing [McGovern, Jablonski, and Whicker] have gotten some playing time before."
"Whicker had been at D, but we like her speed, so we've been using her at attack. She really has the ability to play both offense and defense."
Union won the opening draw and controlled the ball for the majority of the first half. The Dutchwomen scored the first goal of the game at 26:33. McGovern put Williams on the board seven minutes later on a free position shot. Union scored two more times to regain the lead, but Pettengill had the last word, scoring off a quick feed from behind the net. Williams closed the half down 3-2.
Perry tied the game four minutes into the second half, scoring her first goal of the season. The Dutchwomen responded quickly, scoring three goals in a row, making the score 6-3 in Union's favor. Jablonski, assisted by Perry, scored with 19:01 remaining in the half. McGovern and Jablonski combined to narrow the gap to 6-5 a few minutes later.
The game remained within one for eight minutes before Dutchwoman Kristin Joyce added to the lead. McGovern struck again a few minutes later, once again narrowing the gap to one. Whicker scored with 3:28 left to tie the game and send the teams into overtime.
Junior Margie Fulton won the draw for the Ephs and generated a shot on net. Union and Williams each got to set up in each other's end, but Dutchwoman Casey Dianni came down on a break away and shot before the buzzer to score the game-winning goal.
Mason concluded that "Overall we did okay. We're not good enough on loose balls, whether it's a draw control or a down ball, individually we're just not coming up with the ball." On a more positive note, Mason said "We came back [from a 3 goal defecit] and made it an exciting game."
Williams will return to NESCAC play against Trinity at 12pm on April 2nd.
Looking ahead to the Saturday's game, Mason says "Our D is coming around nicely. We'll need to play really tight defense against Trinity. We'll need more control through the midfield and more coordination on offense."
