Williamstown, MA -- In a competitive game on Cole Field, it would take a second half comeback to cancel out a Wesleyan goal scored at the end of the first half.
The Ephs started strong, with the partnership up front of
Brianna Wright and
Bria Abbiati looking especially lively from the kick off.
In the fourth minute, Wright collected the ball near the end line, crossing to Abbiati who headed the ball on target, forcing a save from Wesleyan goalkeeper Molly Brumbach. The two were at it again three minutes later when Abbiati played Wright down the sideline, who crossed it into
Shae Rashoff. Rashoff left it for
Tori Huang, who barely got her shot off before Brumbach was out to smother the opportunity.
Wesleyan got their first shot of the match in the 13th minute, but Lina Rodriguez' effort from outside the box was easily saved by Williams goalie
Margaret Huelin.
The Ephs seemed comfortable, building out of the back successfully with some especially good midfield facilitation from
Jaquelin Nordhoff. Williams' next big chance came in the 28th minute.
Ava Simunovic sent a cross in towards the center, which Brumbach was able to punch away. On the rebound,
Blakeley Buckingham fired her shot over the net.
Wesleyan finished the half very strongly Huelin saved a pair of Wesleyan free kicks from outside of the box in the 35th and 36th minutes.
The Cardinals took the lead in the last minute of the first half. Winning the ball near the center of the field, Audrey Lavey played a beautiful through ball in for Stefanie Stoj, who took a couple of touches and poked the ball over Huelin to open the scoring.
The Ephs looked better in the second half, starting to consistently get crosses in. A 48th minute corner from Nordhoff found Reece Willlison, whose shot was cleared off the line.
Williams drew level in the 53rd minute with an amazing team goal. A give and go between Simunovic and
Meredith Tutun opened up space down the right flank. Wright was played down the line, and in a continuance of her earlier partnership, found Abbiati's run in to the box. The first year forward blasted her shot into the top right corner, to level the game.
Stoj was almost in for a second goal, but both
Ana Bozzi-Mackay and the offside flag prevented her from scoring. Bozzi-Mackay was called into action again in the 75th minute, getting down to make an important save.
In the 76th minute,
Claire Tolliver took the ball down the line and crossed it in to Tutun, whose shot was blocked.
The Ephs had their last chance of the game when Huang got a volley off directly from a corner in the 86th minute, almost stealing the game in the final moments. Brumbach pulled off a great save, however, and the game finished 1-1.
Speaking after the game, coach
Sarah Raymond said: "I am proud of being able to come back after giving up a goal so close to the half. Given the results we've had we could have spiraled a little bit but we made it happen. Wesleyan is a good NESCAC team, so at the end of the day a tie is a solid result. We could have made more chances driving down to the end line in the first half. In the second half, we reinforced that as a good way to maybe come up with something. We made a formation change in the second half and the team dealt with that well. We fought for every minute and that's all we can ask."
The Ephs are back in action tomorrow playing at Tufts in a NESCAC contest.
