LEWISTON, ME - Emily Batchelor was the late-game hero for #11 Williams (11-3, 6-3 NESCAC) as she finessed a shot past Grace Biddle for the game winning goal just over three minutes into overtime. The Ephs win was their 10
th in a row in the matchup against Bates (6-8, 2-7 NESCAC).
Bates came as close to taking down a nationally ranked team as they have been all season on their home turf at Campus Avenue Field. They responded to each goal Williams had in the first and third quarters with a goals of their own in the second and fourth.
Molly Hellman was the first goal-scorer for either side. Williams forced a corner, Catherine Torres took the inbound, looked right, passed left to Elizabeth Welch, who shot, deflecting off of Caroline Grady. Liz Scarcella picked it up, guiding it to Batchelor. Batchelor tried to force it past Biddle, and Hellman took the ricochet and tipped the ball in. The more people who get involved, the better chance of dissecting the defense.
The Bobcats took control of the ball from the onset of the second quarter. Carson Stephenson dealt with the early pressure, saving shots from Riley Burns, Anna Cote and Paige Cote. Later on, Siobhan Morrissey and the Ephs defense withstood three corners with shots from Burns, Meghan Lapar, and Molly Harmon. The fourth corner was similar but had a different result. Instead of a shot saved and then knocked out of bounds for another corner, Anna Cote's shot was kicked to Burns, who didn't hesitate to shoot. Caroline Grady was unaccounted for, scoring her first goal of the season from point blank range.
With 4:12 left in the third, Williams forced a corner. Torres took a pass from Linda Bibeau across the circle, reacted to the defense, and gave the Ephs a 2-1 lead with her shot through the middle. The Ephs started the fourth looking dominant, forcing corners left and right. The Bobcats were not phased, using a team effort from defenders Lapar and Grady, who, in addition to Biddle, were the key to preventing Williams from getting an insurance goal.
After four Williams corners in less than 3 minutes, Burns fired a pass the length of the field to Emily Gianunzio for a fast break opportunity. Gianunzio shot and Paige Cote's deflection bounced into the back of the net, tying it up at 2-2. After regulation, the shot on goal battle was 8-10 Bates, and the corner count was 11-10 Ephs, so there was no telling what was going to be the difference.
Jacqui Sandor forced a corner to set up Batchelor's game winning goal. Coach
Alix Barrale said, "You play to keep possession" and "you don't take as many risks" in overtime, which paid off. Once they got the corner, she said the strategy was "we didn't take a straight shot... and we tried to be patient".
Carson Stephenson faced 7 shots and saved 6. Gates Tenerowicz came in for the second half, faced 4 shots and saved 3. For Bates, Grace Biddle faced 8 shots and saved 5.
Next up for Williams is the regular season finale at home against 3-time defending national champions Middlebury, Tuesday, Oct. 26th, at 6:30 P.M. Bates will face Colby on the same day at 7:00 P.M., finishing their regular season with 4 consecutive home games.
