Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS– An early onslaught of attacks from the Babson Beavers was matched in the second half by an amazing full team performance by the Ephs. In the end, the Ephs fell just short 13-12 despite an unbelievable comeback.
The Beavers opened up the game with a goal thanks to Claudia Dodge after some patient play by the offense. They added to their lead only a few minutes later after a free position goal from Erin Jayne, which forced an early Ephs timeout in the first quarter. It did not take long after the timeout for Claudia Dodge to get her second of the game after a top corner shot beat the outstretched stick of Eph net-minder Caitlyn Joyce.
The Ephs got on the board with 8 minutes left in the first quarter after Madison Fulcher-Melendy found a cutting Claudia Russell, who ripped an unstoppable shot into the ride side of the goal. However, the Beavers earned a solid six-goal lead going into the second quarter through four more free-position goals, two from Claudia Dodge, one from Amelia Novitch, and one from Erin Jayne.
The second quarter began much of the same way, with the Beavers adding another to their lead courtesy of Erin Jayne, assisted by Courtney Kaskey. The Ephs pulled one back after some patient creativity from Shea van Den Broek who found Grace Collier to score, which cut the Beaver lead to six. A high shot from a free position, thanks to Madison Fulcher-Melendy, continued the Eph momentum with ten minutes left in the half. Madison Fulcher-Melendy did not stop there; she shifted through the entire Beaver defense with impressive stick work and found the back of the net, which brought the Ephs within four.
The Ephs continued to take advantage of an almost pendulum swing of momentum thanks to a great find from Lily Warendorf to Mason Yonge, who scored to cut the Beaver lead yet again. The Beavers halted the Ephs' impressive scoring run thanks to goals from Nicole Darveau and Courtney Kaskey. The Ephs responded through a powerful long-range shot from Shea van Den Broek. Claudia Dodge and Madison Fulcher-Melendy each scored a free-position goal right before the break to bring the score 11-7 in favor of the Beavers.
A great save from Caitlyn Joyce on one end led to a fantastic looping shot and goal from Lily Warendorf, assisted by Abby Godwin on the other end, which began the second half. The Beavers responded with two goals despite a great defensive showing from the Ephs after Genevieve Bushey and Erin Jayne tacked on two more goals for the Bevers with under a minute in the third quarter. Madison Fulcher-Melendy again led from the front and scored an absolute rocket of a shot right before the buzzer, which brought the Ephs within four.
The end of the third quarter was a back and forth defensive battle with both teams showing outstanding defense. Fulcher-Melendy's goal gave the Ephs hopeful momentum going into the game's final period. And that it did; the fourth quarter began with a free-position goal by Christina Halloran and a top-tier shot and score from Lily Warendorf, which brought the Ephs within two.
The offense was not the only second-half story; the Ephs defense commanded by Claire Wierman, Claire Newhall, Molly Hellman, and Kelsey Richter stood tall against the Beaver attack, giving their offense these early fourth-quarter opportunities. A Coach Alice Lee timeout led to a goal straight away from Claudia Russell, which brought the Ephs within one going into the last three minutes of the game.
The Ephs were unable to find a goal in the last few minutes to send the game to overtime despite great chances from Claudia Russell and Grace Collier. With regard to the comeback despite the loss Ephs' head coach Alice Lee stated, "The team fought hard and I am proud of them. We are hoping to continue the momentum into Sunday"
The Ephs will look to get back to their winning form against Colby in Maine on Sunday, April 10th at 12:00 PM
