WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College women's soccer team earned an NCAA First Round victory on Saturday at Cole Field, topping John Jay College by a score of 5-0.
Senior captain Brianna Wright scored twice and added an assist, leading the way for the Ephs.
The team advances to Sunday's 1:00 pm match against the University of Mary Washington, who defeated Vassar College later on Saturday afternoon.
The Ephs were in control from the first whistle, but a strong defensive performance from John Jay kept the game close in the first half. At the 11:28 mark, the Ephs broke through after some impressive team passing.
Ansley Burns took the ball off a Bulldog defender, and then Elle Long and Bria Abbiati played one-touch passes to Maya Lloyd, who beat a defender and then tucked the ball past the goalkeeper.
Wright then scored her two goals exactly ten minutes apart, both assisted by Isabel Konijnenberg. The first was unselfish play from Konijnenberg after a great cross from Greta Pew, as the junior passed to Wright to finish from close range in the 30th minute.
In the 40th minute, Konijnenberg again provided, winning a goal kick and playing a low cross into the middle of the box. Wright one-timed her shot to the lower corner at the near post for her second.
The Ephs added a fourth goal just before halftime as first-year Chloe Lee drilled a left-footed shot from 25 yards into the top corner.
John Jay played solid defense throughout the second half, with the only goal for Williams coming in the 61st minute, when Lloyd played Wright behind the defense, and her cross found Konijnenberg at the far post. She tucked her shot in from a tight angle to finish the scoring.
The win moves Williams to 13-2-4 on the season, with the team's most wins since 2018, when the Ephs last won a national championship.
