Box Score NORTH ADAMS, MA -- The Williams College Ephs (6-4, 4-2 NESCAC) fell to the Wesleyan University Cardinals (8-3, 5-1 NESCAC) 8-7 in today's contest. The Ephs were trailing for most of the game but closed the scoring gap in the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals from first-year Thomas Fowler.
The score remained tied at 7-7 for several minutes while each team fought for the next point. The Cardinals called two time outs before Quentin Dellafera netted their game winner with 42 seconds left on the clock.
Dellafera was also the leading scorer on the field with three goals.
The competitive nature of the contest is evident in today's statistics. Wesleyan had 17 turnovers to Williams' 18, and won 10 face offs to Williams' 9. Each goalkeeper contributed with 8 saves, and each squad had 15 successful defensive clears as well as 30 ground balls apiece.
Wesleyan outshot Williams 33 to 27, an advantage which may have made the difference today.
The game was aggressive from the very start. Williams maintained possession for most of the first quarter, taking a number of early shots and ultimately calling a timeout when they weren't able to score.
Steven Kiesel finally tallied the first point of the game after a long ten minutes of play, and the score remained 1-0 for the Ephs into the second quarter.
Aidan Daniell put Wesleyan on the board 5:07 into the second quarter.
Eph Duncan Cummings answered back to regain his team's lead, though it was quickly followed by another goal from the Cardinals. The teams were tied at two points apiece at the half.
Half time was the calm before the storm, as both teams prepared for the battle that would follow.
Wesleyan pulled away early into the second half. A three-goal run put the Cardinals ahead 5-2 about halfway through the third quarter.
Williams fought back, and the teams swapped possessions. Whittam stepped up with back-to-back saves followed by a clear, leading to a goal from teammate Tanner MacIvor. Though John Maimone-Medwick followed suit with another goal for Williams, it was not enough.
Sam Stanton scored for Wesleyan, and they maintained their lead at 6-4.
David Lee won the faceoff to open the fourth quarter, and teammate Bryson Gilbert-Bono narrowly missed a shot to put his team back in play. A seventh Wesleyan goal was scored soon after by Dellafera, his second of the contest.
Trailing by three goals, Williams did not back down. Instead, they welcomed the chance for a comeback in the final quarter.
Gilbert-Bono capitalized on a man-up situation minutes later, scoring off an assist from Tanner MacIvor and sparking a rally in his team.
Wesleyan players responded with a series of shots, but were unable to get past Whittam. A successful Williams clear eventually landed the ball in Khary Dennis's stick, who assisted Fowler's first goal of the game with 11:00 on the clock.
A mere 31 seconds later, Fowler found the back of the net again, this time assisted by Kiesel. With the score tied up it was anyone's game, and would remain that way for most of the quarter.
After their second timeout, Wesleyan took the field with force.
Quentin Dellafera was able to catch a teammate's rebound and slip it past Whittam with 42 seconds remaining. This moment would clinch Wesleyan's victory.
Coach McCormack acknowledged that today was "a really tough game, coming down to the very end with that last goal." Still, he expressed pride in his team's relentlessness against the strong Wesleyan squad.
Dellafera and Fowler were the only players to collect multiple goals in the contest, as several offensive players contributed with one point. This speaks to both teams' offensive depth.
"We plan to move on and refocus our energy for our next game," McCormack explained.
Wesleyan's victory means another NESCAC win as well as a 1-1 record in this year's Little Three play, the Cardinals having lost to Amherst earlier this season (Williams will face Amherst on April 19).
Williams will take the field this Tuesday, April 8 when they face Hamilton College.
