Despite giving up the first goal of the game on a cold, blustery day in Williamstown, the No. 25 Ephs women's lacrosse team cruised to a 14-3 victory over Cortland. The Ephs took advantage of a strong run of play throughout the middle two thirds of the game and utilized a relentless defensive effort. With the win, the Ephs move to 7-6 on the season, while the Red Dragons fall to 8-6.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Cortland struck first, as Toni Cashman picked up a loose ball and found her teammate, Ashley Melillo, who finished into the back of the net to give the Red Dragons a 1-0 lead with 12:24 to play in the first quarter.
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After taking over five minutes to score in the game, the Ephs put three goals on the board in just over three minutes. First, Franny Donohue continued her hot run of form with a goal at the 9:42 mark of the first quarter, then Anna Miller hit Katy McCullough inside for a goal with 8:13 to play in the quarter, and Sydney Puntus capped off the strong stretch for the Ephs with a goal with 6:35 left to go.
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A long scoreless drought was snapped with just seconds to go in the first quarter by the Ephs. Controlling possession after a Cortland yellow card gave them a woman-up opportunity, Franny Donohue rebounded a missed shot and dished to Reece Willison, who fired into the back of the net to beat the buzzer with just four seconds left, giving Williams a 4-1 lead going into the second quarter.
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The Red Dragons scored first in the second quarter, taking advantage of an early green card on McCullough. Brooke Elizalde passed to Isabel Adams for the goal with 14:23 to go in the half to make it 4-2.
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Next, Eph captain Claudia Russell got involved, netting her first goal of the game to re-up the Williams lead with 11:36 to go. Soon after, Willison forced a foul and finished her free-position shot with accuracy, extending the Ephs' lead to 6-2 with 10:20 still to play in the second quarter.
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The Ephs were able to get one more goal before the half, as Franny Donohue converted on a free-position attempt for her second goal of the game with 2:24 remaining, and Williams entered halftime ahead, 7-2.
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Williams picked up right where it left off, as Russell deposited her second goal of the game just over one minute into the second half to make the score 8-2.
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After a few minutes of strong defense and a couple good Caroline Pratt saves, the Ephs regained possession and added to their advantage when Cece Tauber slotted one home with 8:01 to go in the third. Two minutes later, Donohue found McCullough in the middle to extend the Williams lead to 10-2.
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Once again, the Ephs scored a goal just before the end of the quarter. This time, McKenna Dwyer converted a free-position shot to give Williams an 11-2 lead with eight seconds to go in the quarter.
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Williams continued to extend its lead early in the fourth quarter. First, Dwyer passed to Tauber, who whipped it into the net with 13:32 to play. Dwyer got another assist a few minutes later, finding Juliet Kilborn for the goal to make the score 13-2 with 11:44 to go in the game.
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Cortland got back in the scorer's column on a woman-up opportunity several minutes later, when Elizalde got the ball to Cashman for a finish that cut the gap to 13-3 with 6:28 remaining.
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McCullough put the finishing touches on a Williams win, depositing a free-position shot into the back of the net for the final goal of the game, making the score 14-3.
NOTES
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The Williams defense held Cortland to three goals, tied for its lowest scoring output of the season.
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The Ephs' defense held the Red Dragons scoreless for over thirty-five minutes of consecutive game time over the second, third, and fourth quarters.
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Williams out-shot Cortland 32-17, and 19-8 in the first half.
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Five different Ephs had multi-goal games, and Donohue led the team in points with four.
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Pratt made eight saves in goal for the Ephs.
The Ephs next compete on Saturday at 11 a.m. against No. 3 Colby. The matchup will take place at home and is Senior Day. Colby is coming off of a 20-6 win over Endicott.
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