Saratoga Springs, N.Y. — An early first half offensive flurry from Williams (2-0) proved to enough to holdoff a late surge from the Skidmore Thoroughbreds (1-2) as Williams claimed a 4-1 victory.
The succession of Eph goals was spurred by an early opener off the stick of junior
Emily Batchelor at the 11:00 mark. After a long ball across the crease of the Skidmore net, Batchelor confidently dispatched the ball into the back of the net giving Williams a lead that would last the remainder of the game.
After opening the scoring, the Ephs would not waste any time in doubling their advantage as
Shea van den Broek would capitalize just over three minutes later at 14:08, slotting one past the charging keeper on a quick break. Van den Broek was not done as 35 seconds later she found herself in front of goal burying a rebound for her second tally the game. The final Williams goal would come in the dying seconds of the half as first year
Margot Bernardo calmly finished a rebound to extend the margin to four.
Going into half time with 4-0 lead, Williams coach
Alix Barrale was pleased that the team "definitely capitalized in the scoring circle" as well hitting on the fact that defensively they did not concede any shots on goal.
As the second half wore on, the back-and-forth game saw great chances at both ends including an in-tight chance that developed from a Skidmore corner, but was cleverly kicked away by junior netminder
Gates Tenerowicz to keep the Thoroughbreds scoreless.
In the fourth period, however, Skidmore would eventually crack the strong Eph backline as they netted a rebound at 51:10. This marked the first goal conceded by Williams team this season, ending an impressive scoreless line of 111 minutes.
The Ephs used two goalies in the contest with junior
Carson Stephenson playing the first 30 minutes and not facing a shot as the Ephs went on top 4-0. Junior
Gates Tenerowicz played the entire second half and made two saves and allowed one goal.
The Thoroughbreds' Jess Gaetgens played the full 60 minutes in goal and allowed four goals and recorded 10 saves.
The Ephs will be back in action Saturday and coach Barrale is, "Hoping we use this opportunity to gain confidence going into tomorrow's game against Tufts." Williams will travel to Tufts for a 1:00 PM encounter with the Jumbos.
