Hartford, Connecticut – A brilliant
Tori Huang goal and a second half dagger from
Brianna Wright lifted Williams (3-21/2-1-1 NESCAC) over Trinity (0-5-0/0-3-0 NESCAC) 2-0. The Ephs traveled to Hartford looking to claim another three points on their march towards the postseason. They pressed from the start, leaving Trinity very little space to play. The Ephs did a great job weathering Trinity pressure to take the win home.
In the 6th minute, captain
Ava Simunovic made an audacious attempt from nearly the half line from a free kick. It was grabbed by the Bantams goalkeeper.
Eight minutes later, it was the Williams goalkeeper called into action.
Margaret Huelin came out to claim a shot from wide.
The deadlock was broken in the 19th minute with a stupendous strike from
Tori Huang. A
Sam Phan lay off left Huang with the ball at the top right corner of the 18 yard box. Huang went for it from distance, sending a looping shot over a helpless Trinity 'keeper and getting the goal.
It wasn't all attack, though, as the Ephs defense was called into action on multiple occasions. In the 21st minute, it looked like Trinity had unlocked them but
Piper Dupies sprinted back to clear.
A couple of minutes later, Huang was almost back on the score sheet, heading a free kick into the outside side netting from close range. The rest of the half was pretty quiet as both teams pushed for a goal, but neither could find one.
Seven minutes into the second half, the Ephs doubled their lead.
Ansley Burns played a low cross across the box. The Trinity goalkeeper, caught between the two worlds of looking to clear the ball and staying on the line bobbled it.
Brianna Wright ran in from the back post to smash into the top corner of the net for the 2-0 lead.
A minute later
Ana Bozzi-Mackay was required to tip a shot over to retain the goal to secure the Ephs' lead.
Bria Abbiati went close to scoring twice around the 15th minute. The first chance was a low poke after the ball ricocheted around the box. That shot rolled just wide. A couple of minutes later, she fired from just inside the box, forcing a nice save.
2-0 was how it ended as the Ephs continue their forward march.
Commenting on the game, Eph head coach
Sarah Raymond said: "Really good win against an athletic and tough Trinity team who never give up. They put us on our heels in the first half so I was very happy with how we managed the game in the second half and took control of the tempo as much as we could. Again, a total team effort to get us the win but some outstanding play from Ava, Ki, Ansley and Tori helped us secure the win. They are important conference points. Excited for a back to back NESCAC weekend up in Maine next weekend!"
Williams will play again next weekend in Maine against Colby and Bowdoin.
