Williamstown, MA - The Williams College Ephs (4-8,2-6) were back on home field at Farley Lamb Field battling against the MIT Engineers (5-6,3-2). It was a strong showing for the Ephs this evening. The Ephs demonstrated that they were fully committed to all aspects of the game tonight, showing their abilities up and down the field.
It was the ideal start for Williams. After weathering a bit of offensive pressure from the Engineers, a solid clear attempt saw the ball flying off the stick of Tucker Graham and into the MIT net. The Ephs defense looked strong despite heavy pressure from the Engineers. From the eleven-minute mark to the 8-minute MIT scored two, but off a great battle from Ryan Johnson to have Eddie Loyd pick up the grounder, Harrison Cross capitalized to bring this game back to even at 2-2. Production wouldn't stop there as a face-off win from Ethan Filler got the ball in the hands of the offense and Harrison Cross found Nolan Cooleen to give Williams the lead back. As time wound down, Eph goalie Matt Wetmore came up with a solid save and Ryan Johnson, with his 13th goal of the year, gave the Ephs the lead 4-3
The second quarter was all Williams. Starting with a face-off win and a goal by Harrison Cross, this period sealed things for Williams. There were 6 more goals scored this quarter. Jesse Shapiro, Harrison Cross, Shapiro again, Will Doran, Cross again, and Aidan Housenbold were the scorers. This half ended with Williams leading 11-3 on their way to a solid victory.
The third quarter saw MIT score first, but Williams looked to start gaining momentum back immediately. On the man advantage, drawn by a great effort from Ian Kim, Davis Miller sent one home from the slot off a great ball from Will Doran. Seconds later, off another win by Kim, Harrison Cross connected with Jesse Shapiro to raise the score to 13-4 Williams. The Ephs defense started doing their thing again, Brendan Cooleen with a massive hit created the turnover that saw Aidan Housenbold bury Williams' 14th goal. In response to an MIT goal, Will Doran found Harrison Cross all alone back door. Cross made no mistake in finding the back of the net. The two then, in almost identical fashion, made it 16-6 just minutes later. Sophomore Wyatt Cotton displayed his defensive ability today, locking down the MIT attacker, leading to the Ephs 17th of the evening.
It was another positive start for Williams. Ian Kim winning the draw and Harrison Cross, closing in on 30 goals this season, scored for Williams. Nolan Cooleen was up next, with a great ball from Will Doran, the senior tallied the Ephs 19th goal of the evening. With an absolutely amazing spin, Zach Falls danced past the MIT defender and had himself arguably the best first career goal one could ask for. That wrapped it up for Williams, who took this game 20-9.
Eph head coach George McCormack stated, "They are a tough team and we were fortunate to score as many goals as we did. It was just really good teamwork on defense and offense and this gives us a little bit of momentum going into the weekend. I thought face-offs were great today and teamwork was at an all-time high."
