WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. - - A stellar performance from the start saw the Williams College Ephs down the Worcester State Lancers 6-0 in the first round of the NCAA DIII Field Hockey Championship.
Just 2:30 into the game, sophomore Anna Miller found senior Payton Ahola who struck it into the net to put the Ephs 1-0 up. At the 3:32 mark sophomore Kiki Higgins gave the Ephs a 2-0 lead after receiving a perfectly placed pass from senior Molly Hellman. Hellman ran up half the field, taking on defenders and placed a pass outside the circle for Higgins to pick up and slot it bottom right for a 3-0 lead 8:33 into the first quarter.Â
Hellman herself found the back of the net at the 16:57 mark after linking up with Higgins once again for the 4-0 lead.
Williams turned defense into offense at the 40:26 mark as Hellman ran up three quarters of the field, placed a pass through two Worcester defenders and found junior Meaghan Boehm for the 5th goal of the night.
First year Keira Harder tapped in an initial shot from first year Madeline Rowland to tally the final goal of the night at the 53:55 mark.
On the night, the Ephs out shot the Lancers 35-2. Williams struck 22 shots on goal and Worcester State struck 1 shot on goal. Both senior Gates Tenerowicz and first year Miriam Silver saw time in the cage, working together to keep the clean sheet.
"I'm thrilled with the result of the game," stated Eph head coach Alix Barrale after the game. "I thought we played really well and it was nice to have everyone on the team contribute to the success. We executed our game plan from the start."
"All heart and energy," stated Liz Scarcella after being asked about the team's style of play in tonight's game. "This is an amazing group of girls. During the pregame and locker room talks, our mindset of us getting it done really created this energy to finish this game and I think we definitely showed that tonight with our effort."
Reflecting on her experience in playing multiple NCAA games in her collegiate career and the vibes of the locker room this year, Molly Hellman stated, "It brings another level to the game and it's more exciting than just a regular game day. We know it's a privilege to play in the NCAA Tournament but we definitely deserve to be here and we're excited to showcase our talent."Despite exiting in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Worcester State had an incredible season becoming the first ever MASCAC Champions. "We came into this game excited about how our season went up until this point," stated Lancers head coach Sophia Monopoli. They gave everything they had out there, for the full 60 minutes. That's all I could ask for as a coach."
Up next for the Williams College Ephs is a second round match up against the Salisbury University Sea Gulls. The Ephs played Salisbury earlier in the year in a contest held on the campus of Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. that was won by the Sea Gulls 1-0.
"I think we will have a little fire in our belly to avenge that loss earlier in the season," stated Barrale. "That was one of our best games overall and we still came out on the losing end but knowing the adjustments we need to make will hopefully give us an advantage."
The second round contest is set to take place Saturday, Nov. 11 at 1:00 PM in Baltimore, MD on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.
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