Waterville, ME - Coming off a strong win, the Williams College Ephs (5-8,2-6) were on the road to play the Colby College Mules (3-8,0-8). The Ephs, looking to maintain their momentum, battled through the first half to make a strong recovery in the second half and secure victory 15-13.
The first quarter saw Colby take a 3-goal lead, but the Ephs, as determined as ever to end the season strong, started to build back momentum at the 5-minute mark. Wyatt Cotton made a great defensive effort to create a turnover and got the ball moving up field. The sophomore then capitalized on his own effort, with a great pass from Will Doran, to secure his 2nd goal of the season and see the score stand at 3-1 Colby at the end of the quarter.
It was all positive in the second quarter for the Ephs as both the defense and the offense started to find their feet and moved every thing in the right direction. Drew Nicholson and Brandan Cooleen stepped by creating turnovers and getting the ball moved up the field for the Ephs. Will Doran was the first to score for Williams in the second quarter, Doran with his 14th of the season brought the score to 5-2 Colby. Despite a quick response from the Mules, Williams had a rapid response of their own. Sophomore Ethan Filler winning the face-off for Williams, got the Ephs on the attack quickly and after shots from multiple forwards Ryan Nagel drove home the ball that brought the score back to within 3. After multiple turnovers by the Mules created from the relentless Eph defense, Matthew Johnson and Will Doran connected for M. Johnson's goal. A final goal for Harrison Cross, reaching the 30 goal mark for the season, and a phenomenal save by Matt Wetmore, saw the Ephs still very much in this game only trailing by a score of 8-5.
The third quarter was the turning point for Williams. The Ephs came out flying and the defense dominated the 3rd quarter. A face-off win from Ian Kim saw Will Doran find Ryan Nagel for a goal within the first 60 seconds of the quarter. After a great clear, Drew Nicholson, off a pass from Seamus Regan, collected his first goal of the season.Only 8 seconds later, Harrison Cross would make the score 8-8, all tied up, with the momentum firmly in the hands of the Ephs. Ryan Nagel was next, collecting the Ephs 9th goal, off another great feed from Ryan Johnson. Brushing off a slight chance by the Mule's offense, the Ephs were back to work with Will Doran giving the the Ephs double digits at the 7-minute mark. It was then time to be introduced to the Matt Wetmore show.Tthe senior goaltender came up huge for Williams with save after save before the defense rallied and locked the defensive zone down. Eddie Loyd and Brandon Cooleen took care of business on the backend, leading to a final goal at the 17-second mark by Harrison Cross to see the roles reversed from the previous quarter and Williams now leading by 3, 11-8.
It was a battle to the end. The Ephs' strong performance in the 3rd quarter gave them the lead they'd need to secure victory today. Colby came out strong in the fourth quarter, grabbing a quick goal to make the score 11-9. Jesse Shapiro had the first chance to respond and made the most of it. Shapiro boosted the Ephs backto a 3-goal lead. A pair of Colby goals put the Ephs in a tough spot, but a trio of Eph goals shut down and chance of Colby completing a comeback. Aidan Housenbold, Jesse Shapiro, and Seamus Regan were the subsequent goal scorers for Williams. That's all it took today. the Ephs secured a strong conference victory 15-13.
Eph head coach George McCormack had this to say after the game, "I was really impressed by our team's ability to bounce back after a tough 1st half. Both the offense and the defense rose to the occasion and made up a significant deficit on the scoreboard."
