WILLIAMSTOWN, MA––No. 18 Williams (8-6, 4-3 NESCAC) fell 14-9 to No. 2 Hamilton (11-10). The Ephs led 7-4 at halftime but a seven-goal run in the second half gave the Continentals the victory.
Head Coach Chris Mason said "It was a pretty good game. Hamilton is a very strong team and we had a great first half. We didn't handle the ball as well in the second half and made some bad decisions, but all-in-all a pretty good game."
Margie Fulton led the Eph offense with three goals and eight shots on net. First year Rebecca McGovern scored twice, while Kaitlin Ellis, Meera Sivalingam, Emily Whicker, and Emily Jablonski each contributed one. Ali Piltch played all 60 minutes in goal, facing 27 shots and making 10 saves.
"Ali Piltch did a good job," said Mason. "She played better than she did against Wesleyan. She made 10 saves and made some good plays. There were a couple of close ones, and some bad bounces, but she played well."
Hamilton's attack was led by Rachel Friedman and Sarah Bray. Friedman scored five goals while Bray registered four goals and four assists. Cage-time was divided between Sam Elie, who played 42:17 minutes in net, and Dewi Caswell, who played 17:43.
The Continentals jumped out to 4-1 lead in the first nine minutes of the game, with Friedman netting the first two. Williams then went on the attack, scoring six unanswered goals, including two free-position shots. Fulton had the final word of the half, scoring twice in the last ten minutes, including one off a pass from class-mate Ellis.
Hamilton returned from halftime with three goals to tie the game at 7-7. Whicker interrupted the Continental's charge at 23:54, but the assault continued two minutes later. Hamilton scored seven goals in the next 17 minutes, making the score 14-8 with just under five minutes left to play. Fulton scored one more unassisted goal with 1:53 left to make the final score 14-9.
Mason said that "our ball handling and decisions" really hurt Williams in the second half and that because Hamilton stalled once they got the lead, the Ephs had to "go out and try and get the ball back. We went out and pressured them which gave them more space."
She concluded saying "We'll keep working it on it. Hamilton was a very strong team and we did a good job."
Williams will resume NESCAC play on Saturday against Bowdoin. Play begins at 1pm.
