SALISBURY, MD. - Junior Molly Hellman plays hero as her goal at the 41:21 mark became the eventual goal winner to hand the Sea Gulls their first and only loss of the season. Williams produced a major upset to send top-ranked Salisbury crashing out in the quarterfinals of the NCAA DIII Field Hockey Championship Tournament after a 2-0 victory to the Ephs.
Each team was held scoreless in the first half of action, with each defensive line rock solid for their team. The Ephs were able to get three shots off in the first quarter but Sea Gull goalkeeper Mackenzie Peacock denied senior Shea van den Broek an early goal a little over five minutes into the game.
High pressure from the Ephs to start the third quarter saw five penalty corners in five minutes awarded to Williams. Senior Emily Batchelor managed to get a shot away from one of the corners but was denied a goal by Peacock. Sophomore Meaghan Boehm took her chances at the 41:16 mark, but Peacock again denied the Ephs a goal.
Less than ten seconds later, Molly Hellman was at the right place at the right time to finally get one past Mackenzie Peacock, giving the Ephs a 1-0 lead with less than four minutes to go in the third quarter.
With 50 seconds left in the game, first year Kiki Higgins got a tip off of Hellman's shot to secure the 2-0 victory over the Sea Gulls to punch their ticket and dance their way into the Final Four.
Williams outshot Salisbury 13-3, with 7 shots on target for the Ephs and 1 for the Sea Gulls. Senior goalkeeper Carson Stephenson produced a save on the only shot on target for the Sea Gulls to get the shutout.
"I am incredibly proud of our team," stated head coach Alix Barrale after the win. "We played at a very high level today for 60 minutes. Our defense was locked in and we created lots of offense and drew many corners."
The Ephs will now have a few days to rest and recharge for their Semifinal clash against Johns Hopkins University set to take place on Friday, November 18, at 12:00 PM EST. The game will be held at Wackar Stadium in Glassboro, NJ.
