Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA - Vaulted by senior Hillary Cook's five goals, No. 19 Williams (2-2, NESCAC 1-2) defeated Connecticut College (1-3, NESCAC 0-2) Wednesday night on Farley-Lamb Field. Despite facing deficits of 4-0 and 6-2, the Ephs battled back to force overtime. With only 1:12 remaining in the second overtime period, Hillary Cook dodged past three defenders, leapt into the air, and touched the ball past Connecticut College goaltender, Meg Raskin, to seal the Ephs' victory.
Connecticut College opened the scoring in the game at 27:16 on a Taylor Thomas goal. Under two minutes later, Thomas found an open Heidi Halsted on the crease for the senior's second goal of the season. The Camels jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Cook could bury two past Raskin to cut the Eph deficit in half.
Following Cook's heroics, Connecticut continued to demonstrate their offensive prowess, firing two more past Eph sophomore goaltender, Brett Bidstrup, at 12:13 and 11:07. The game remained scoreless for eight minutes until junior Natalie Gill found the back of the net on a free position shot at 3:25. Shortly thereafter, senior Bridget Malicki opted for an Iroquois Nation styled bounce pass to Nancy Palmer, who was brought down by the Connecticut defense and awarded a free position chance. Palmer did not miss, and the Ephs entered the half down by two.
When asked how the Ephs' approached deficits of 4-0 and 6-2, Head Coach Chris Mason commented, "We wanted to be patient and wait for the good chances. We cleaned some fundamentals up and got back to the little things."
Nancy Palmer nearly opened the scoring in the second half at 28:30; after dancing through two Camel defenders, she unleashed a shot from just outside of the crease, but was denied by the foot of Raskin. The Ephs, who retained possession following the missed chance, were again denied by Raskin on a Maeve Mulholland free position shot. A diving shot by Malicki at 27:45 finally solved Raskin, bringing the Ephs within one.
Two consecutive goals by Hillary Cook, the latter assisted by Malicki, gave the Ephs their first lead of the game, 8-7. Williams continued their offensive momentum, striking twice before the midway point of the second half. After Williams and Connecticut exchanged a string of goals, the Camels' Taylor Thomas was awarded a free position shot with just over 10 minutes to play. Brett Bidstrup stood tall in the Eph net and turned Thomas' bid aside to keep an Eph one goal lead.
With only 1:25 remaining in regulation, Connecticut's Hannah Donegan dodged her way through the Eph defense and beat Bidstrup to give the Camels an 11-10 lead. Following Donegan's goal, junior midfielder Natalie Gill secured the draw and found Malicki just outside the 12-meter fan. Malicki dodged her way through the Camel defense, sending a bounce-shot from just inside the eight meter arc that eluded Raskin with only 56.4 left on the clock. Regulation came to a close with both teams knotted at 11.
An incredible individual effort by Hillary Cook with 1:12 remaining in overtime gave the Ephs their first NESCAC victory of the season. It was the Carlisle, MA, native's fifth goal of the night and team-leading fifteenth of the season.
When asked to comment on Malicki and Cook's individual performances, Mason claimed, "They are both consistently key players and opposing teams know it. They did a great job of battling through a lot of physical play."
The Ephs were led in scoring by Cook, who registered 5 goals on 6 shots. Connecticut's Taylor Thomas, Madison Barker, Hannah Donegan, and Tina Balzotti each registered two goals on the night.
Connecticut goaltender, Meg Raskin, fashioned 14 saves on 26 shots faced. Bidstrup, who made two critical free position stops for the Ephs, registered three saves on 14 Camel shots.
Next up for Connecticut College is a trip to Clearwater, Florida, where they will face Denison University in a non-conference matchup. The Ephs travel to Lewiston, Maine, for a matchup with the Bates College Bobcats on March 21.
