Wellesley, Mass. - Williams (5-1, 1-1 NESCAC) headed to Butler Field today, winning against Wellesley (-1, 1-0 NEWMAC) in convincing fashion 7-0. Ephs coach
Alix Barrale mentioned the circumstances surrounding the scheduling, saying, "Luckily, Wellesley had an opening... we were so fortunate to be able to play them." Williams started how they left off on Saturday, locking down on defense and then scoring on a penalty corner opportunity.
Shea van den Broek capitalized on a broken play as Liz Welch's shot bounced up in front of the goal. Van den Broek made the awkward putaway look easy.
The ball stayed in the offensive zone for Williams, allowing Emily Batchelor to attempt a shot from the left side, only to have it saved by Kyra Deehr-Lewis, who notched 15 on the day. Fortunately for Batchelor, the rebound careened straight back to her, allowing her to find space on the right side of the Blue defense and score the second goal of the day.
As Wellesley attempted to connect on long passes, the Ephs pressured the ball handler. Barrale noted, "from start to finish... we had great awareness". Blue Seniors Caitlin Campbell and Maddie Betancourt navigated on the offensive side.
Linda Bibeau set the tone for Williams early, recording key stop after key stop. At the 9:46 mark, the Ephs forced another penalty corner, where
Molly Hellman scored her first goal of the season.
Catherine Torres joined the scoring party just :40 later as her shot from the right side was partially deflected by Deehr-Lewis and barely made it to the back of the net.
Kelly McCarthy recorded her first point of the season on an assist to Kaela Smith, who finished the scoring for the Ephs in the first quarter. Williams found themselves up 5-0. However, in the second quarter, they were stymied by Deehr-Lewis' diving saves. Due to the Ephs anticipation and ability to jump the passing lanes, Wellesley found trouble finding consistency on offense. Julia Rappaport led one of the Blue's transition opportunities, using her agility to find the hole in the defense. However, it didn't result in a shot, as the defensive core of Bibeau, Welch, and
Kate Gregory held strong. They mad
e life easy on the goalkeeping tandem of
Carson Stephenson and
Gates Tenerowicz, who weren't called on to make a save.
Consistency throughout a game will be key to the team's success moving forward, and they showed that in the third, as Peyton Ahola dragged the ball out of a pile of sticks and poked it into the goal. Maycie Blair found some action and used it to her advantage, scoring off of a feed from Smith to put the cherry on top of the Ephs' 5
th win of the season.
Williams College will take on the Trinity Bantams on Saturday, September 25th. Looking ahead, Coach Barrale complimented Trinity, saying "they are a very solid team from top to bottom... they don't have a weak spot". Meanwhile, Wellesley takes on Bowdoin at 7:00 PM on Wednesday, September 22nd.
