CAMBRIDGE, MA – Williams College Ephs (11-4-2) beat the University of Southern Maine Huskies (17-4) 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Sophomore Blakely Buckingham scored the only goal of the game in the 30
th minute. The drive started with senior
Brianna Binder sending the ball down the field to Buckingham who kept control through multiple blocked shots, eventually sending a well-placed kick that deflected off a Husky defender and goalie Breanna Atwood to score.
The Ephs maintained possession for the majority of the first half, leading the Huskies in both shots (9 to 2) and corners (5 to 1). Junior
Claire Tolliver and senior
Tess Belnap were in sync on the offensive front, jumping on opportunities created by their team to keep pressure on Atwood.
Atwood had an impressive showing today, with seven total saves, a pivotal one coming in the 74
th minute. Junior
Kiara Royer took a strong left footed shot from the top of the box, Atwood diving and just punching it out of play. Williams senior goalie
Leyla Kamshad also had a great performance today, leaping to snag a long shot in the 58
th minute that would have tied the game.
Southern Maine matched the Ephs' intensity in the second half, both teams going back and forth with solid offensive drives. First-year
Paige Nelson stayed on the Husky offense, beating them down the field each time to block potential shots. Williams had multiple close attempts at increasing their lead, junior
Shae Rashoff and senior
Emma Lynch both taking powerful shots that just hit the top crossbar.
A free kick from Southern Maine in the 85
th minute was saved by a diving Kamshad, and Williams fought to keep control for the remaining minutes of the game. Eph head coach
Sarah Raymond after the game, "Really proud of our effort to battle all game against a hard-working Southern Maine team and some serious wind! We had to adapt to the conditions which I thought we did well and we were able to establish good possession for much of the game. We love keeping it close, so some nervous moments near the end! We're excited to move on to the next round."
The Ephs will move on to the second round of the NCAA tournament, playing Massachusetts Institute of Technology tomorrow at 1pm in Cambridge.
