New London, Conn - The Williams College Ephs (7-1) coming off a series of impressive California victories took on the Connecticut College Camels (5-4). Both teams showcased high-scoring runs throughout the 2nd and 3rd quarters although with the help of timely Williams goals, the Ephs posted 11-6 victory.
The powerhouse Eph defense and the howling wind kept this to an early low-scoring game, nonetheless, the Camels showed no fear out of the gate. Their early free position attempt was saved by
Anj Raman but they kept with the play and scored the first goal of the game. It took only two minutes for
Franny Donohue to drive through the crease and start the Ephs off strong with her first goal of the game. The Ephs defense, the fifth best in the nation, continued through this quarter with great alertness from
Zoe Getzin and the quick feet from
Molly Hellman. Halfway through the quarter, the Camels earned another free position shot just to be tightly contested by
Anj Raman again and soon stolen by
Molly Hellman.
After an early Eph timeout, their controlling defense continued, credit to
Jade Lowe for gobbling up a Camel possession near the end of the shot clock. On the Camel's third free possession shot in the game, the Eph defenders got called for contesting early for a rare free goal to bring the score to 2-1.  Near the end of the first quarter, the Ephs' luck turned around,
Franny Donohue's free position attempt was held in by her and made its way to
Claudia Russell for the bouncing shot, tying the game at 2.
An early 2nd quarter free position shot from
Grace Collier went just above the Camel's sticks to give the Ephs their first lead of the game at 3-2. This surge continued with
Katy McCullough elevating and going over the top to grow the lead to 4-2. Not to be outdone,
Franny Donohue caused a turnover on the defensive end and came back down the field to convert on a free position shot for her second goal of the game.
The next few minutes were quiet due to strong defensive possessions on both sides until
Claudia Russell found some space off a drive through the crease to further add to the Eph run. Soon after, with a little distance from the goal,
Franny Donohue recorded a hat trick off an assist from
Lauren Morganlander to expand the lead to 7-2.
The tale of free-position shots persisted with
Reece Willison topping off a seven-goal Eph run. Finally, the Camels answered, driving around the side of the goal and scoring. The Ephs maintained much of the possession for the rest of this half thanks to
Juliet Kilborn and her strong midfield and draw-control play. However, nearing the end of the half the Camels chipped into the Ephs' lead some more with another goal after a quick passing play. At half the Ephs had a seemingly stable 8-4 lead.
The second half began with uncharacteristic turnovers for the Ephs that allowed the Camels to maintain possession for the first 4 minutes. The Camels picked up on the momentum they finished the first half with, dropping the Eph lead to 3. In the Camel's next downfield attempt,
Caroline Pratt continued her dominance contest in which she finished with 9 saves and only 2 goals allowed. The tide kept on turning with a gorgeous spin shot inside the crease for the Camels who added to their own four-goal run, 8-6. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, a yellow card on the Ephs did not make the situation more promising, although a save from
Caroline Pratt gave life back to the Ephs. In an impressive series of events,
Cece Tauber caused a turnover and followed up with a free position goal that she converted while falling, thus pushing the lead to 9-6 heading into the 4th quarter.
Entering the final quarter, the Ephs seemed determined to garner security in their lead and the Camels hoped to regain the momentum they had in the 3rd. Both teams were evenly matched for most of this quarter which favored the three-point Williams lead. At the six-minute mark, the Ephs looked to deliver the dagger.
Molly Hellman and
Grace Collier swallowed up ground balls making it possible for important goals byÂ
Cece Tauber and
Sasha Landau who outmaneuvered the Camel's defense to find space. The Ephs maintained their pressure for the next five minutes and pulled away with to register an 11-6 victory.
Eph head coach
Alice Lee commented post-game, "We played against a tough and gritty Conn team and I'm proud of how our team rose to the occasion to match that level of fire.
Molly Hellman came up huge for us with the ground balls in the final half. After defensive stops and saves, our attackers did a good job of keeping pressure on the net and burying a couple of critical goals. We're a balanced attack and it's great to see multiple people on the board."
Franny Donohue who had three goals for the Ephs cited, "Working together to maintain possessions and timing," as a recipe for success in the Williams offense.
The Ephs next will take on undefeated Tufts April 3rd at 6 pm in Medford, Mass..
