Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY— Unable to hold onto the early lead, Williams College (7-5) fell to Skidmore College (10-3) by a score of 3-1.
It looked like a great start for the Ephs against the number eleven ranked Thoroughbreds. First year Alex Bennett found senior co-captain Caitlin Conlon wide open in the center. Conlon slipped the ball past goalkeeper Amy Beck to give Williams a very early lead.
Just as soon as the Ephs scored, Skidmore answered. Junior Dani DeGregory created some solo magic for the Thoroughbreds, as she carried the ball from midfield to her offensive circle. DeGregory buried the ball to equalize the score again, only 1:30 into the game.
The game went shotless, until Skidmore put away another goal. Senior Sam Skott collected the ball in the circle and lofted a high shot past sophomore goalkeeper Margaret Draper.
With a penalty stroke at the twenty-minute mark, Skidmore further widened the score gap. Draper has seen a large number of penalty strokes this season, and was unable to make contact on this shot. Junior Jenn Hanks sent her shot to the corner for the third goal of the game. Draper had an excellent game in net, but her seven saves were not enough to get Williams the win.
After a stat-packed first half, the second half was scoreless. Although the Ephs amped up their play in the second half, they were unable to get off quality shots. "Our second half was so much better. We had many great passing sequences and earned five corners," said Coach Alix Barrale. "We were more threatening on offense and adjusted to playing on the fast AstroTurf."
The other net saw a lot more action in the final minutes of the game, as Williams attempted to scrape out two last goals. The Thoroughbred defense held strong, ultimately holding on to the win.
Looking forward Barrale said, "we need to continue working on our ball handling on offense and our anticipation and awareness on defense." Senior co-captain Annie Rojas and senior Jaclyn Porfilio were defensive standouts for this game and Barrale expects more of this for the remainder of the season.
Williams returns to the NESCAC in its next game versus Tufts University this Saturday at 1:00 PM.
