Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Williams Women's Lacrosse (7-4, 3-3 NESCAC) fell to Tufts University (5-3, 2-3 NESCAC) on Saturday. A strong start by the Jumbos led to their decisive 12-5 victory over the Ephs.
Tufts came out strong and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. After controlling the first draw of the game, Tufts showed their offensive strength with a goal by Kerry Eaton off an assist by Gabby Horner at 28:39. Challenged by turnovers and unable to complete a successful clear in the early minutes of the half, the Ephs gave up two more goals in the first 5 minutes of the game; Lindsey Walker (26:03) and Annie Nero (25:21) brought the Jumbo lead to 3-0. Despite struggling to get something going on offense, the Ephs got on the scoreboard at 24:45 off a free position goal by senior captain Sam Weinstein (Marblehead, MA).
Tufts was not deterred by the Eph goal and continued to find the weak spots in the Ephs transition game. Capitalizing on Williams turnovers, Tufts scored three goals in three minutes to bring the game score to 6-1. Gabby Horner scored consecutive goals for the Jumbos at 17:52 and 16:19 and Caroline Ross added another at 15:02. Williams was able to find a response to Tufts' scoring run at 10:36 when Nancy Palmer (Lakeville, CT) converted on a free position shot. Tufts went on to score two more goals in the half before Williams junior Becca McGovern (Weymouth, MA) gave the Ephs the last word in the half with a goal with 37.6 seconds left before halftime.
Tufts continued their offensive dominance in the second half, scoring three unanswered goals in the first 10 minutes. Brigid Bowser (24:54), Gabby Horner (23:30) and Kate Applegate (21:46) combined to increase the Tufts lead to 11-3. The Ephs seemed to find an answer at 19:57 with a goal by Nancy Palmer, assisted by Becca McGovern. However, it would not be enough to overcome the deficit. Both teams would tally one more goal bringing the final score to 12-5 in favor of the Jumbos.
Tufts led the Ephs in ground ball (22-17), turnovers (25-29) and shots (22-14). Jumbos goalie Tess Shapanka had 3 saves while Ali Piltch stopped 7 shots for the Ephs.
Williams will take the field again on April 13th against Colby College.
