Box Score Williamstown, MA - On a rainy day in Williamstown, a fast-paced, physical game ended 4-0, handing the Ephs their second win against NESCAC opposition.
From the start of the match, Williams seemed in control. Although nothing came of it for the first half hour, the Ephs built out of the back wonderfully and had some great passing combinations. In terms of attack, the first 15 minutes saw both teams attempt to play through balls, which were consistently cut out with strong defending from both sides.
The first shot of the game came in the 17th minute. A cross from junior
Parker Harnett found senior
Sam Phan, who scissored past her defender and chipped her shot over the crossbar. Phan was involved two minutes later, winning a free kick on the edge of the penalty area.
Jaquelin Nordhoff, looking to catch the Colby goalkeeper off-guard with a low shot, fired wide.
This match saw a very aggressive midfield battle, with both teams looking to win the ball back in the midfield. Colby started to grow into the game, with a strong opportunity ending in a missed shot by Colby's Jane Maguire in the 30th minute.
Williams took the lead in the 37th minute with a
Meredith Tutun wonder goal. The ball went into first year
Isabel Konijnenberg, who turned her defender and laid the ball off to Tutun, who, from the corner of the 18 yard box, sent a rocket into the top left corner. Colby's keeper had no chance.
Williams started the second half slowly, with Colby continuing to grow into the game. The game went back in forth until a turning point in the 72nd minute. Williams defender
Reece Willison knocked a good cross out of bounds for a Colby corner, and on the ensuing play, the Mules went inches away from equalizing. A shot from within a crowd in the box went off the inside of the post, but Blakely Buckingham was there to clear for the Ephs.
Over three minutes between the 76th and 79th minutes, Buckingham benefited from a pipeline of assists from first year
Piper Dupies. The first came from a Dupies corner from the right side, which Buckingham volleyed directly from the air into the inside side netting. Dupies' second assist came from the left side, squaring the ball to Buckingham, who was again there to score her second, and Williams' third, of the game.
The Ephs seemed hungry for more, with forward
Brianna Wright threatened with a great chance. Receiving the ball in the box, she put her defender in a spin cycle with her turn before her close-ranged shot was saved.
The Ephs got their fourth in the 82nd minute. Receiving the ball on the right flank, Phan took the ball down to the end line and beat her defender, sending a cross on the ground to
Bria Abbiati, who flicked it on to
Ansley Burns, who slotted it near post.
After the match, Eph head coach
Sarah Raymond said: "I'm really happy with our overall performance. I thought in the first half the defense made some great plays, never really felt threatened. Really happy to see how solid we looked. There were moments where we bent a little bit, but we didn't break, so that was really promising. We got stuck a little in the first half playing into tight spaces and once we talked through that at halftime and used the space on the field it became a different game. The finishes today were unbelievable, a lot of highlight reel moments. Meredith's goal, the corners, Piper serving in great balls from the left, Blaklely finishing. While it was 1-0 we could have felt threatened but we stayed calm and composed and just kept going and doing what we knew would work and in the end it did."
Excellent performances are starting to become a norm for the Ephs, who are shaping up to be a team to beat in the NESCAC. They play again on Cole Field tomorrow taking on Bowdoin at 1:00 PM.
