WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - First-year
Maya Lloyd of the No. 12-ranked Williams College women's soccer program buried her team-leading fourth game-winning goal of the season Tuesday afternoon, as the Ephs defeated No. 10 Middlebury at Cole Field in the regular-season finale for both squads.
The Ephs (10-2-3, 7-1-2 NESCAC) will be the second seed in the NESCAC Tournament and will host seventh-seeded Bowdoin (10-5, 5-5 NESCAC) in the quarterfinal round Saturday on Cole Field with game time to be determined.
"I am so proud of our team to finish our regular season on that note," said head coach
Sarah Raymond. "Finishing at the top of the standings is something to be extremely proud of. This team is young and has so much potential and we are so excited to be hosting a NESCAC Quarterfinal game on Saturday and to continue our journey through the postseason. We created so many chances today and it was great to finally put one in the goal during the second half. We made it pretty exciting at the end, but we held on. Middlebury is a strong competitor and it is a great game to finish the regular season with."
During the 62nd minute against the Panthers (10-2-3, 5-2-3 NESCAC) Tuesday, sophomore
Elizabeth Stophel made some tremendous moves just outside the 18-yard box, eluded multiple defenders and delivered a perfect through ball to a sprinting Lloyd down the right side of the box. Lloyd one-timed the pass into the left side of the net, as Stophel tallied her eighth assist and Lloyd recorded her eighth goal of the season.
Stophel nearly put the hosts on the scoreboard in the fifth minute, as she curved a shot from a difficult angle on the right side of the box toward the net, but the attempt ricocheted off the left post. In the sixth minute, senior goalkeeper
Margaret Huelin came out aggressively and made an outstanding kick save on a shot by Chloe Swindle during a breakaway situation.
Huelin earned her ninth individual shutout of the season, making seven saves, while Panthers' goalkeeper Livia Davidson turned aside nine shots. Williams attempted five corner kicks and Middlebury was awarded one, while Stophel and Lloyd finished with game highs of four shots on goal, respectively.
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