New London, CT – It was a disappointing day of action for Williams Women's Soccer as they fell to Connecticut College 2-0 in a hard-fought game. It was a day of end-to-end action, with the Ephs taking 9 shots to the Camels' 11. Possession was also balanced in a game in which the Camels took advantage of their chances better to take the day.
Conn threatened early, with Camille Cortes' long shot going wide right. The Camels also succeeded at doing what no other team had been able to do this season to the same effect: prevent the Ephs from building out of the back through the midfield. The first big chance of the game fell to the Camels in the 15th minute, when Williams defender
Sam Brown intervened in a quick Conn attack.
In the 17th and 18th minutes, Williams forward
Brianna Wright had a couple of chances, with her shots being blocked by the Connecticut College defense. In the 28th minute, Williams midfielder
Tori Huang had a beautiful shot tipped over by the Camels' 'keeper Sarah Hall, keeping the score at 0-0.
In the 35th minute, Conn opened the scoring with a beautiful goal. Ella Gazo took the ball down the right flank before delivering a cross to Katelyn Hardwick, who finished past Huelin to give the Camels the lead.
The goal did not take the fight out of the Ephs, who almost leveled the scoring a minute later when Huang saw her shot from inside the Conn box roll left of the target. The half drew to a close with the Ephs trailing for only the second time of the season.
The second half was very exciting with the Ephs battling to bring it back and Conn desperate to pick up their first NESCAC win.
In the 52nd minute,
Parker Harnett was almost in but Hall was there to smother the opportunity. Three minutes later, Conn had a chance of their own, with forward Mya Johnson shooting over the Williams goal.
Williams'
Piper Dupies hit the woodwork in the 60th minute. Her shot from outside of the box crashed off of the crossbar, only inches away from tying the game. The rebound agonizingly bounced over
Isabel Konijnenberg, who was racing into the box.
Three minutes later, a short corner routine from Conn led to a shot that landed on the top of Huelin's net.
In the penultimate ten minutes, Williams began to find space with crosses. Two crosses in the 72nd minute did not find a runner.
Kianna Porter latched onto another cross, but her header was saved. Right before the 80th minute,
Meredith Tutun's shot went high after getting on the end of a corner kick. In the 81st minute, Huelin kept the Ephs alive, showing her class with a great save.
Williams' promising momentum was ended in the 83rd minute when the Camels got their second of the game. Ella Gazo got her second assist of the night, again driving down the right side and delivering an inch perfect cross. Claire Mulvihille got the tap after a good run into the box to double Conn's lead.
Williams pushed hard for the comeback, and had the chance to halve the deficit with 45 seconds left. Dupies drove into the box, drawing a foul and winning a penalty for the Ephs. In a moment that summed up the day, Williams captain
Jaquelin Nordhoff, who has proved to be a set-piece specialist this season, sent her penalty wide.
After the game, Eph head coach
Sarah Raymond said: "Today was a battle with a team who really needed points, so it was a tough, physical, and end to end game. Difference was they took their chances and we weren't able to capitalize on ours. Really proud of the fight we showed, we never gave up and were threatening all the way until the very end of the game. Sometimes soccer is like that. We're aware of that and are excited to bounce back with a good performance tomorrow against MIT."
While their unbeaten streak is over, the Ephs remain in strong contention in the NESCAC, three points behind rivals Amherst but with a game in hand. Every great team has its stumbles and the Ephs have a chance to get back to winning ways tomorrow when they play MIT on Cole Field.
