Box Score NORTH HAMPTON, MA—A non-league game brought the Ephs (4-2) back to their one-time home field at Smith College (1-4), where the Ephs had opened their season versus Colby.
This time Williams was the away team, but they still collected a 5-2 win over Smith. Overall, head coach Alix Barrale was highly satisfied with tonight's performance. "The team played well against a good team," she said. "Smith's record is deceiving—they have a very threatening attack and earned both of their goals," she said.
Despite her consistent play thus far this season, senior co-captain Caitlin Conlon had yet to get in the box score. Tonight, Conlon skillfully tallied two goals and junior Annie VanWagenen came up with two assists.
From the first whistle, the Ephs took control of the game. The early pressure put on by Williams forced Smith into two early substitutions. Likewise, Barrale subbed in first year Hannah Goodrick for Alex Bennett. Although Goodrick did not tally for a point, Barrale notes that she "was impressive in the midfield."
Shortly after the substitutions, Conlon put in her first goal, just 13:05 into the half. As always, the Ephs built off their momentum from the goal. Just thirty seconds later, Conlon put in another goal, giving Williams a 2-0 advantage, not even a quarter of the way through the game.
Smith countered with a quick corner taken by Julia Hamilton, but the Ephs soon switched the play back to their offensive end of the field. VanWagenen and junior Claire Swingle both fired in shots, but strong defensive plays denied another Eph goal. Shortly thereafter, VanWagenen sent the ball to Kit Rosen who knocked it past goalkeeper Nora Demick to put Williams up 3-0.
Both teams pursued strategies of multiple substitutions for the remainder of the half. Smith decided to relieve Demick with ten minutes left in the half, putting in Cameo Tietje. She was immediately flooded with shots from the Ephs' offense. Williams finally converted a shot when junior Abigale Belcrest passed the ball off to first year Isabel Schlee, who fired it into the back of the net.
A Smith College rejuvenation occurred during half time because they started the second half with a quick goal. Casey Rau assisted Marissa Vara off a penalty corner at 42:51. Williams countered with a goal by junior Claire Swingle just ten minutes later. It was the Ephs first shot attempt in a while and, again, raised the team's energy level.
The raised energy level, however, did not result in any more Williams' goals. To the contrary, Smith's sense of urgency resulted in another goal off a corner. Again Marissa Vara finished the job, but this time with an assist from Julia Hamilton.
The Ephs' success was a result of their ability to perpetually get shots off that kept the pressure on the keepers. At the end of the game, Williams had outshot Smith 21 to 6. Although the game was an outstanding showcase of the Ephs' offense, the team's defense also shut down the Smith attack/ In particular, Barrales mentioned, "Julia Cobb saved us several times on defense."
Of the team play as a whole, Barrale said, "Overall, a great team effort. Glad we fought hard and bounced back from our disappointing loss to Amherst." She was particularly pleased that everyone not only stepped on the field, but also performed to the best of their abilities.
This Saturday, Williams has the chance to add another win to their record when they take to the road to play Connecticut College at 1:00 PM in a NESCAC contest.
