Williamstown, MA – On a highly anticipated afternoon at Farley-Lamb Field, the third seeded Williams College Ephs hosted the sixth seeded Trinity Bantams in the opening round of the NESCAC tournament. Fresh off of their top-20 national designation, the Ephs had something to prove and ultimately came through. A heat-seeking
Pearse Glavin finish in the fourth quarter would put the game out of reach as the Ephs were 10-8 winners.
It was an uncharacteristic start for the Ephs as their first goal didn't come until the 3:04 mark of the first quarter. Pearse Glavin would cap off a very quiet offensive frame in which the Ephs exited ahead 1-0. Matthew Freitas would be important in keeping the Bantams' offense silent as he made five saves in the opening quarter.
The teams came out in the second quarter determined to find the back of the net, and that they did. Williams would quickly add two more to their lead with Calvin Caputo scoring both goals within a minute. Trinity would answer with one of their own before Finlay MacKnight and Caputo would extend the lead to 5-1. Trinity would gain some momentum at the end of the half as they would score twice in the final three minutes. The Ephs would enter the locker room up 5-3.
The teams traded goals in the third quarter with the Bantams opening the scoring to draw within one. Caputo would score his fourth of the game to double the lead but Trinity would cut it down just twenty seconds later. Long-pole Sam Cragin would have the final say in the quarter as his long-range strike put the Ephs up 7-5.
The Ephs needed an early statement and delivered upon it. Adam Figler opened the fourth quarter scoring with an electric finish that got the crowd roaring. A minute later, Pearse Glavin would score his second of the game to push the lead to 9-5. Trinity answered back shortly after to ensure the game was still within their grasp. Tensions began to rise once Trinity pulled back another goal cutting the deficit to two goals. Less than a minute later they would turn up the heat even more with an eighth goal to make the score 9-8.
After a costly offsides penalty, the Bantams were pinned in their own half; the Ephs would wind down the shot clock before Adam Figler finished a perfect behind-the-back shot to send the Farley-Lamb Field crowd into raptures. Eph head coach McCormack spoke of the goal after the game saying, "Adam's goal was exactly what we needed; we needed a spark, we needed somebody to raise the level because Trinity was tough. That goal was the exclamation mark on this one today".
Williams would run out the clock possessing the ball, desperate to punch their ticket to the second round. After a few key saves in the final seconds, the celebration began as the Ephs secured the victory by a score of 10-8.
The Ephs await the games of the top two seeds in the NESCAC Tournament to determine the location for the final two rounds.
