Box Score LEWISTON, ME—After three straight losses, the Williams College (8-6) field hockey beat Bates College (4-10) by a score of 3-1. This is exactly the result Eph head coach Alix Barrale was looking for after the momentum her team built last game that was too little too late to pull out a victory.
The Ephs got off to a slow start today. While they were able to maintain most of the possession, the Ephs' offense was atypically flat. The Bobcats were equally lagging, leaving the entire first half scoreless. Barrale was careful not to underestimate the Bobcats, though. "Bates is a very good team with a strong defense. Their record is deceptive and I'm glad we knew not to take them lightly," Barrale noted.
Both teams came out in the second half with much more fire. The Bobcats put in the first goal of the game off an early penalty corner. A shot sent diagonally across the circle put the Bobcats up 1-0.
This setback ignited the Ephs. "We definitely picked it up in the second half," said Barrale. "Especially after they scored on their first penalty corner of the half." The Ephs responded ferociously putting in three goals in ten minutes.
The first goal came two minutes later. Senior co-captain Caitlin Conlon gained control of the ball on the left wing and sent a cross into the circle. Junior Annie VanWagenen collected it and fired the ball to the right corner to tie up the game.
Most of the Ephs' scoring opportunities came from corners. Williams went ahead on a goal off a corner. Sophomore Katie Gallop scored after winning the rebound that deflected off the left post. First year Hannah Goodrick put in the final goal off a corner, as well, to secure the Ephs' victory.
All three goals were a product of overall team efforts. Barrale cites teamwork as the reason Williams was able to pull out a win after being behind. "We found our groove after their goal. It was a total team effort and I'm proud of how we stepped it up when we needed to," she said.
The Ephs get one last regular season chance to improve their record this Wednesday when they hit the road to play at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY at 6:00 PM.
