Ephs Lacrosse Falls to Tufts in a 17-9 Shootout

Medford, Mass - On a cloudy, drizzly evening, the #13 Williams College Ephs (8-1) traveled to play the undefeated #3 Tufts University Jumbos (10-0). Despite three goals from first-year Reece Willison, the Jumbos constantly kept the pressure on the Ephs with an early five-nothing run and a total of 38 shots in the game, many of which came from free-position attempts. This dynamic Tufts offense overpowered the strong Williams defense to earn them a 17-9 victory.

The Jumbos wasted no time setting the tone by scoring a free-position goal less than 30 seconds into this one. Not deterred, the Ephs returned a few minutes later by working the ball around to Elsa Dean-Muncie who scored a goal off the drive. Soon after the Ephs grabbed the lead with Reece Willison scoring a bouncing shot on a free-position attempt putting the Ephs up 2-1. The Ephs played a minute of tough, commanding defense but the Jumbos stuck with the play and tied the game with a shot from the right of the goal.

The fast pace of the Jumbos kept the Ephs on notice with a rapid-fire flurry of shots from inside the crease, none found the back of the net due to the efforts of goalie Anj Raman and defender Claire Wierman. However, the Jumbos found enough space to score another goal and regain the lead at 3-2. The Ephs were on defense for much of the rest of this quarter until a steal from Molly Hellman and the subsequent timeout gave Williams a chance to regroup and start gearing up their offensive sets. The Ephs' momentum was high with a series of high-quality shots on goal they were unable to score.

The second quarter began with a lot of back-and-forth action until a missed Williams pass offered the Jumbos a one-on-one attempt on the goal which was converted for a 4-2 Tufts lead. Coming downfield, the Tufts' goalie gobbled up two Eph shot attempts, one a free-position shot from Franny Donohue and another a close-ranged shot from Lauren Morganlander. The Jumbos made a tight pass through the Eph defenders and scored with a sliver of space inside the crease. The Tufts transition offense continued to be the story in this match with Tufts charging downfield off a Williams turnover for a five-goal run and a 6-2 lead.

The Ephs ended the Tufts run with Lauren Morganlander scoring a man-up from inside the crease off the assist from Franny Donohue. However, it would not take long for the Jumbos to score a phenomenal reverse shot to keep a controlling lead at 7-3. The Jumbos did not take their foot off the gas scoring a man-up goal to establish an 8-3 lead. Late in the quarter Claudia Russell scored her first of the game on a free-position shot and goal to chip into the Jumbo lead going into the half, 9-4.

Coming into the second half, the Jumbos were not giving the Ephs much room to come back. Tufts scored early off a drive through the crease to grow their lead to a stable six goals. A couple of minutes later the Ephs showed some signs of life with Katy McCullough scoring off a drive on the side of the goal and an assist from Franny Donohue, 10-5 Jumbos. The dazzling Tufts offense continued to be on display with their next goal being slammed in with only a handful of seconds left on the shot clock. In the subsequent possession, the Jumbos had three free-position attempts and converted on none thanks to the solid defense from Caroline Pratt who was manning the goal.

In the third quarter the Ephs defense found success in spacing out their zone defense and maintaining their aggressive style of play despite the many fouls they had called on them. Tufts found some success with quick passing inside the crease for a goal. Nonetheless, Williams kept up their fight, first with Reece Willison scoring with a center drive for a bouncing shot and then the next goal came from Franny Donohue peeling off the goal and slipping in a shot. Williams brought the game to 12-7 but with just a pinch of time left in the quarter, the Jumbos quieted the Ephs, scoring a low shot off some space. This one was getting away from the Ephs as the game headed into the 4th with the Jumbos leading 13-7. 

Full praise to this Williams roster for not throwing in the towel despite the hounding Jumbos and the rain. The rapid passing for the Tufts grew their lead to seven with an inside pass to an open attacker for the goal. Again Williams forced themselves back into this game with Reece Willison scoring her third with a free-position shot right into the back of the net. Following this up, Elsa Dean-Muncie drove across the crease and scored a shot in the top left to bring Williams within five, 14-9.  However, Tufts soon delivered the dagger with five minutes left in the 4th through three goals of their own, all from quick drives and crafty footwork around the goal to give us our final score of 17-9.

Regarding how the team will regroup, Head Coach Alice Lee said, "Tufts is a strong team and they were able to capitalize on extra opportunities from our mistakes. We learned a lot from this game and competed until the end, and are looking forward to coming back out this weekend."

The Ephs will need to shake this one off as they play their rival Amherst College Mammoths (4-5) in a home game at Farley-Lamb Field on Saturday, April 3rd at 1 PM.