WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Williams women's lacrosse fell to Tufts this afternoon 17-12, falling to 0-6 in the conference and 4-6 on the season. Tufts improved to 6-3 on the season and 3-3 in the NESCAC.
Tri-captain Margie Fulton led the Ephs with a season-high five goals, but it was not enough to give the visitors an edge on the Jumbos, who defeated the Ephs behind two long stretches of unanswered goals. The home team hit the twine five consecutive times to open the game and six consecutive times between the 16-minute and two-minute marks of the second half.
"Lacrosse, runs can happen," Williams head coach Chris Mason said. "You don't want to ever feel like you are down and out of it or you have it made. They did get that run to start the game, and that was what I was most concerned about, but you know you're still in it if you can get one yourself ... We finally got going and settled down a little bit, and we were definitely in it. We came out of half time and started to do a real good job, but then they did get a good couple of goals, and they started to slow it down a little bit and we had to go after them. You can sit back and let them win by three or you can go out and try to steal the ball. So we went after them, and that was part of how they ended up with 17 goals."
Tess Shapanka had eight saves in goal for Tufts, and Ali Piltch and seven in goal for the Ephs.
Tufts controlled the play in the first 17 minutes of the game: Their opening run of five consecutive goals was capped by an unassisted effort from Eliza Halmo with 12:54 remaining in the half. Williams finally found its way past Shapanka off the ensuing faceoff, as Fulton received a pass from Sam Weinstein and whipped a shot into the back of the net to make the score 5-1. The teams then scored four goals apiece in the final 10 minutes of the half, with Fulton and Lilly Wellenbach scoring two each for the Ephs, and the teams entered the break with Tufts up 9-5.
Williams was able to turn up the pressure in the first four minutes of the second half, ripping off three unanswered goals to make the score 9-8. Fulton opened the run with her fourth goal of the game off another pass from Weinstein only 53 seconds into the half. Emily Jablonski then scored off a free position shot four minutes into the half, and Emily Whicker capped the run two minutes later with a goal while the Ephs were a man down, making the score 9-8.
The Jumbos were able to stretch their lead back to three with goals at the 21:52 and 20:52 mark. Stephanie Gallo scored for Williams on a man-up opportunity with 16:09 to play in the game, making the score 11-9. The Ephs would not come as close for the rest of the game, as the Jumbos went on their second long scoring run with six consecutive goals in the following 14 minutes. Gallo scored again for the Ephs on a free position shot with 1:57 to play, Whicker scored with 1:15 remaining, and Fulton closed the scoring with a free position shot with one second to play, and Tufts ultimately walked away with the 17-12 victory.
"They were a very good offense and very quick," Mason said. "We struggled a little bit defensively staying with their quick moves, and they were good shooters and really fired the ball. So it was tough, a tough game defensively."
Williams will next play RPI on Tuesday on the road at 6:30 p.m. Tufts plays Wheaton at home on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.
"I think we're improving and playing hard," said Mason. "I think we need to just keep the possession of the ball on offense ... We need to move the ball around the perimeter a little bit faster than we have been."
