WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. - Sophomore Pilar Torres' rocket into the bottom right corner sends the 4th seeded Williams College Ephs to the NESCAC Semifinals after a 3-2 overtime win over the 5th seeded Wesleyan University Cardinals on Williamson Field.
With 29:58 on the clock, Wesleyan's Imani Ochieng struck the ball into the bottom left corner to put the Cardinals 1-0 up at halftime.
The Ephs came out of the halftime break with high intensity and at the 35:36 mark, senior Molly Hellman tied the game for the Ephs at 1-1. Off a penalty corner, junior Meaghan Boehm tapped in an initial shot from Torres to make it 2-1 in favor of the Ephs at the 44:29 mark.
Georgia Adams leveled it 2-2 for the Cardinals with 6:28 left in the fourth quarter. Both teams were unable to find the back of the net once more in regulation time, resulting in overtime.
With the penalty corner awarded 5:13 into overtime, Torres delivered an important and powerful strike to put it into the back of the net and make it 3-2, booking their place into the NESCAC Semifinals.
On the day, the Ephs outshot the Cardinals 38-6. The Ephs struck 26 on target while the Cardinals struck 2 on target.
"I'm still in shock," stated Eph head Coach Alix Barrale after the OT win. "We really had to dig deep and persevere and be gritty at the end. That was a huge test. All the credit goes to Wesleyan. Their defense was just incredible and when they had opportunities in our defensive end, they really capitalized. What a game, I'm so glad it went our way. We had to earn every inch out there so I'm glad we get to stay alive for another week!"
Up next for Williams is the NESCAC semifinals hosted at Middlebury College. The Ephs will take on the winner of the 3rd seeded Bates College and 6th seeded Bowdoin College contest. That quarterfinal matchup is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 7pm.
Williams will face the winner on Saturday, Nov. 4, at 1:30 PM in Middlebury, VT.
