AMHERST, MA––Williams (3-9, 1-8 NESCAC) fell 15-11 to rival Amherst (9-5, 5-4 NESCAC) today. Devin Acton drove Amherst's offense, scoring seven of the Lord Jeff's 15 goals. Andy Grabowski, Colton Growney, Tucker Dayton and Evan Dedominicis each contributed Evan Redwood combined to score the remaining eight goals. The Ephs and Lord Jeffs have met sixty times since 1955. Williams leads the all-time series 36-24.
Grabowski, assisted by Mericos Rhodes (Seattle, WA), gave the Ephs the lead just over a minute into the game. David Lee (Hillsborough, CA) won the ensuing face-off, but Amherst reclaimed the ball and scored to tie the game 1-1. The teams traded momentum and goals for the majority of the quarter. Dedomincis and Growney would capitalize on an Amherst turnover to break the stalemate with just 34 seconds left to play. The Ephs ended the quarter up 4-3.
Acton tied the game for Amherst two minutes into the half. Cherney followed up with another three minutes later to give the Lord Jeff's the lead. The Ephs reclaimed the lead with goals from Dayton and Growney. Cherney and Acton scored once more each to end the quarter up 7-6.
Amherst continued to build on their momentum, making the score 8-6 a few minutes into the third. Both teams had opportunities over the next six minutes. It was Williams' Steven Kiesel (Excelsior, NM) who finally found the back of the net with 8:40 left in the quarter. Cherney and Acton came through again for Amherst, scoring two more goals to make the score 10-7 at the end of the quarter.
The Lord Jeff's continued their run into the fourth quarter, scoring three more goals. Dedomincis and Rhodes combined to break the run, scoring with 7:52 left to play. Rhodes got his own goal a minute later to make the score 13-9. Redwood scored the Lord Jeff's final two goals with 3:09 left on the clock. The Ephs continued to rally, and Dayton scored his second goal of the day, followed by another from Growney. Williams' rally was not enough, and they ended the game 15-11.
Sean Dougherty (Smithtown, NY) faced 36 shots, and recorded 6 saves. Amherst's Sam Jakimo played 58:27 and faced 38 shots, recording 16 saves. Greg Majno played the remaining 1:33 for the Lord Jeff's.
Williams next plays Middleybury on the road on April 25th. Play begins at 4:30pm.
