WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Sophomore goalkeeper
Ellie Smith of the No. 16-ranked Williams College field hockey team earned her fifth shutout of the season and made seven saves Tuesday evening, as the Ephs fell short, 1-0, with a 3-2 shootout setback against No. 10 Middlebury on Williamson Field.
"Our team played amazing," said head coach
Alix Barrale. "We gave it our all and left it all out on the field. Ellie was sensational in goal. No reason to hang our heads. We are onto the NESCAC Tournament."
The Ephs (8-7, 6-4 NESCAC) earned the fifth seed in the conference tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded and No. 7 Wesleyan (12-3, 7-3 NESCAC) for a quarterfinal-round matchup Saturday at noon in Middletown, Connecticut. Each of the last seven meetings between the Ephs and Cardinals have been one-goal games, with Williams emerging victorious in six.
The Ephs showcased some outstanding defense in the first quarter against the Panthers (11-4, 7-3 NESCAC) Tuesday. Smith made an outstanding save on a shot by Emma McNealy in the fourth minute, and then sophomore defender
Ali Meyer made a clean steal and avoided committing a foul with a takeaway on the end line of the circle with six minutes remaining.
In the 40th minute, off a
Claire Colvin penalty corner, senior captain
Kiki Higgins stole the ball from the Middlebury defense as it was attempting a clear. The Weston, Massachusetts, native fired off two quality scoring chances, but Panthers' goalkeeper Izzy Redzic turned aside both attempts. With 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, first-year
Leah Hong made an outstanding defense play just outside the circle, stealing the ball from the Panthers and drawing a foul.
Less than three minutes into the second overtime session, senior captain
Pilar Torres sent a bullet toward net off a penalty corner by Colvin, but the shot went just wide left of the net. During the shootout, Torres and senior
Natalia Nolan found the back of the net for the Ephs in the second and third rounds, respectively, while Megan Fuqua and Addie Chandler scored in the first and fifth rounds, respectively. During the decisive sixth round, Fuqua buried the winning goal for the visitors.
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