Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Williams College Field Hockey (7-8, 5-6 NESCAC) beat Hamilton College (3-12) by a score of 3-1 thanks to a late surge by the Ephs.
Williams was able to control the ball for much of the first half, although the score would be tied at one after the first 35 minutes of play. The Ephs would have a few scoring opportunities, including a shot by Captain Emily Jablonski which resulted in a corner. However, these early opportunities would not culminate in a goal for the home team. Hamilton took their turn on offense, possessing for brief periods throughout the first 15 minutes of play. Williams would continue to dominate, however, taking 19 shots to Hamilton's 7 in the first half. One of these 19 shots would finally hit the back of the net at the 21:45 mark, when Williams drew a penalty corner. Freshman Rachel Brissette would insert the ball to teammate Annie VanWagenen who would wind up from the top of the arc to fire the ball low into the net. With the lead, Williams used their momentum to continue to dominate offensively. However, Hamilton would have their share of runs on net. Most of these would be turned away by solid stops by Eph defenders Jaclyn Porfilio and Annie Rojas, but at the 26:47 mark, the Continentals would score off of a successful corner. Nikki Haskins would score off of a redirected insert, assisted by teammate Sam Sherman. Both teams would keep pushing to goal, but the score would remain tied at 1-1.
It looked like Hamilton would take the lead early in the second half, making a push to net that Williams couldn't quite clear out cleanly. Eph goalie Ariana Spiliotes would kick a long ball out of the arc, but the oncoming Hamilton offense would take the ball back. Williams would recover with a run on net of their own, as Jablonski dribbled the ball past a defender to move it to VanWagenen to get a shot off at the left of the arc. With the score at 2-1 in Williams' favor, the Ephs started playing with more confidence. Jablonski would follow up with a goal of her own shortly after at the 44:52 mark, carrying the ball up the field to score unassisted despite pressure from two defenders. Hamilton had some opportunities late in the half, including a near-goal that was stopped by Porfilio just short of the goal line. Williams would hold the lead for the rest of the half, however, and the game would conclude at 3-1 in Williams' favor. "We were much hungrier for the win in the second half," said coach Alix Barrale. "Going into the NESCAC tournament this weekend, we can't be complacent by any means. I was happy to see how we turned our play around in the second half, and we'll be looking to keep that momentum going for Saturday."
Spiliotes finished with 4 saves on the day, while Hamilton goalie Victoria Trentini had 16.
Williams next takes on Tufts on Saturday away at 1:00 in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament.
