Box Score Middlebury, VT - Williams (9-6/NESCAC 5-5) defeated Middlebury (10-5/NESCAC 7-3) 13-9 in each team's final game of the regular season.
Williams out scored Middlebury 10-3 in the second half to claim the victory.
In the first quarter both teams played patient, cautious, offense and it led to a low scoring quarter, with only three goals in the quarter. Tanner MacIvor scored the first goal for Williams. Middlebury followed that up with a two-goal run with the first coming from Sean Carroll, and the second coming from Jack Cleary with just five seconds left in the quarter to get some momentum for the second quarter.
In the second quarter, both teams' offenses heated up. They started the quarter trading goals, with two goals in the quarter for each team with 7:28 left to make the score 4-3. Then Tim Giarusso scored for Middlebury to take the first two-goal lead of the game. With four seconds left in the quarter, Giarusso scored another for Middlebury to go into halftime ahead 6-3.
In the second half, Williams was quick to make some momentum for themselves and start chipping away at the Middlebury lead. The Ephs started the quarter with a two-goal run with goals from Michael Fahey and Conor Roddy. Sean Carroll then scored for the Panthers to bring the lead back up to two. After that the teams traded a goal each to go into the fourth quarter with Middlebury ahead 8-6.
In the fourth, the Ephs took control of the game. Williams opened the fourth with two quick goals to tie the game up at 8-8 before Middlebury got possession of the ball in the quarter. From there, the Ephs kept the momentum, scoring the next three goals to extend their run to five goals.
At 3:24, Michael Fahey fired a shot hoping to extend the run to six goals, but Will Ernst came up with a big save for the Panthers, and started a breakaway that led to a goal for Tim Giarusso to stop the Ephs' run and bring the lead down to two. As Middlebury was trying to fight back from a two-goal deficit, the Ephs scored two more to put the game away.
Eph head coach George McCormack summed up the day succinctly stating, "We had a great second half." Williams netted seven goals in the final quarter to just one for Middlebury.
Tim Giarusso and Sean Carroll led Middlebury with three goals each.
Tanner MacIvor led the Ephs with four goals and two assists.
Williams' goalie Miles McCarthy player 60:00 and allowed nine goals and had twelve saves.
Middlebury's goalie Will Ernst played 59:18 and allowed twelve goals and had twelve saves.
The next game for the Ephs is Saturday April 30, when they will face Amherst in the NESCAC Quarterfinal in Amherst, MA. The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.
