Williamstown, MA – In a heavyweight match up #17 Williams College (5-4, 3-2) hosted #4 Tufts University Jumbos (8-1, 5-0). Both teams would be the beneficiaries of a seven-goal scoring run as the offensive powerhouses went toe-to-toe. Ultimately, a late Jumbos push would get the visitors past the Ephs 17-15.
It would be a dream start for the Ephs on a drizzly night at Farley-Lamb Field.
Matthew Johnson opened the scoring three minutes into the game.
Will Doran followed suit just a minute later to double the Eph lead and stun the fourth ranked Jumbos. Goal scorer turned playmaker Doran set up
Gavin Timoney for a goal minutes later. Finlay Macknight joined the scoring streak for the Ephs as his goal at 7:08 extended the lead to 4-0. Thirty seconds later,
Gavin Timoney would assist
Calvin Caputo to make it 5-0 Williams in front of the rowdy home crowd. With time winding down in an electric quarter for the Ephs,
Will Doran would bury his second of the game. Once again, Doran quickly assisted a teammate as just thirty seconds later he fed
Pearse Glavin for a goal. The seven goal run was finally stopped by a late Tufts goal, but
Ryan Nagle would shortly re-establish the momentum to make it 8-1.
The second quarter began exactly as the first had, a
Will Doran goal making it 9-1 Ephs and giving Doran five points in just 17 minutes of play. The streaking Ephs' offense finally cooled as Tufts began to control more of the ball at the midway point of the frame. Following a set of two back-to-back penalties from the Ephs, Tufts capitalized on the two-man advantage to make it 9-2. The tides began to shift as Tufts scored again to make it 9-3 before pulling within five as they scored a buzzer-beater to end the half.
The Tufts' roll would continue in the third frame as just four minutes into the second half, the Jumbos had potted four goals to make it 9-8 Ephs. The Ephs' defense settled themselves and on the back of solid
Matt Wetmore goaltending and a good man-down kill, Williams took control. With five minutes remaining in the quarter,
Calvin Caputo released a cannon from a long way out to stifle the Jumbos' run and make it 10-8 Ephs.
Minutes later,
Nick Bates fired a pass near the goal where
Will Doran slammed home the Ephs' 11th goal. Tufts responded quickly with two goals to make it 11-10. Similar to the end of the second quarter, Tufts would bury a goal with 5 seconds left to come all the way back to tieat 11-11. Somehow, the Ephs were not done as on the ensuing faceoff,
Noah Dewbrey would fire a shot from way out that snuck home to make it 12-11 Ephs heading into the final quarter.
The Dewbrey goal snatched the momentum back for the Ephs and they made it count as
Pearse Glavin scored thirty seconds in to take a two-goal lead. Tufts answered right back as the Jumbos scored twenty seconds later to make it 13-12. With the game at a fever pitch featuring back-and-forth action,
Ryan Johnson fired a shot into the corner of the goal to make it 14-12 Williams. Tufts came roaring back to tie the game at 14-14 after a huge save from Wetmore was put home on the rebound. On the following possession,
Ryan Nagle dodged and then fired a sweet underhand shot to retake the lead for the Ephs. After a quick tying Jumbos' goal, Tufts would take their first lead of the game, 16-15, off a clearance turnover from Williams. The Jumbos would not look back as they capitalized once again to make it 17-15.
After the game, Eph head coach
George McCormack had this to say: "It was a great game and they're a good team who managed to comeback. We gave them everything they could handle and unfortunately we just came up a little short. This is momentum-building and we use this because that's just what these guys do and I am proud of them for that."
The Ephs will travel to rival Amherst College on Saturday at for a game at 1pm for a big bounce-back opportunity.
