Williams Comeback Bid Falls Short in 10-8 Loss to No. 2 Tufts

No. 24 Ephs women's lacrosse showcased impressive grit against one of the top teams in the country on Wednesday afternoon, the No. 2 Tufts Jumbos. Despite falling behind by four goals early in the game, Williams locked down defensively during the second and third quarters and cut the Tufts lead to one goal before a late surge gave the Jumbos enough cushion to hold on for a 10-8 win. The loss ends the Ephs' four game winning streak, dropping the team to 5-4 on the season and 2-3 in NESCAC play. With the win, Tufts improves to 10-0 on the season and 5-0 in NESCAC play.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Tufts scored an early trio of goals to establish a quick lead. First, with 12:20 to go in the first quarter, Caroline Conaghan finished a goal off of a nice pass from behind the goal from Ella Lesperence. 

• A minute later, Lesperence made a series of nice moves and whipped a running wraparound into the top of the net. Then, with ten minutes to go in the quarter, Conaghan deposited a free-position shot to give Tufts a 3-0 lead and prompt a Williams timeout.

• After over eight scoreless minutes for the Ephs, Reece Willison got them onto the board with a beautiful individual goal. She sprinted right and fired a low shot into the right netting from distance, as the possession clock was expiring, to make the score 3-1 with 6:56 to play in the first.

• Tufts quickly responded with two goals. First, Sophia Claps drove hard from the left side and scored with 6:31 to play in the first quarter. Twenty seconds later, Alli Zorn received the ball behind the net on the left side, maneuvered into space, and fired high and right to make the score 5-1.

• Claudia Russell cut the Ephs deficit 100 seconds later, making a nice cut inside to the left to get a step on her defender, then converting a shot into the top left corner.

• Tufts scored the final goal of the first quarter, as Claps made a long sprint from the left side, splitting two Williams defenders and scoring a contested shot low and left to make it 6-2 with 2:04 to play in the quarter.

• Both defenses played well to open the second quarter, but Anna Miller broke through nearly eight minutes in. After receiving a pass from Juliet Kilborn behind the goal, she made her way around the goal and finished a wraparound on the bottom right to cut the deficit to 6-3 with 7:05 to play.

• Ainsley Abel intercepted a Tufts pass, giving Williams a possession that eventually ended in a goal when Franny Donohue flipped a long pass inside to Katy McCullough, who netted a contested finish low to make the score 6-4 with 4:55 to go in the half.

• Tufts re-upped its lead under a minute later, as Elsa Schutt deposited a free-position shot low and right to make it 7-4 with 4:09 to play.

• The Ephs continued to respond to the Jumbos. With 3:24 to go in the half, McCullough found Russell, who got herself into good position in the middle and converted a goal into the upper left to reduce the gap to 7-5. The score would not change heading into break, as both defenses clamped down.

• Williams scored first to begin the third quarter, as Franny Donohue took a pass from Claudia Russell, streaked right, and fired a missile into the bottom left corner of the net to make the score 7-6 with 10:36 remaining in the third quarter.

• The rest of the quarter was scoreless, a credit to what was a defensive masterclass from both teams, but especially Williams, as the Ephs held Tufts scoreless for the entire third quarter. 

• A great play to start the fourth quarter allowed the Jumbos to break the drought. Allie Zorn worked a pass inside to Conaghan, who flipped a one-timer into the top left for her hat-trick and pushed the Tufts advantage to 8-6 with 14:21 left in the game.

• Williams retorted quickly, as Miller whipped a pass from behind the net to Kilborn, who found herself open on the right side and quickly netted a goal to make it 8-7 with 12:56 to play.

• After multiple unsuccessful free-position attempts, Tufts finally got one to go when Zorn's second effort yielded a low goal, putting the lead at 9-7 with 6:59 left.

• Conaghan delivered the dagger for Tufts, finishing a pinpoint shot on the bottom right as the shot clock was about to expire to give the Jumbos a three-goal lead with only 2:23 to play.

• Williams put up the last goal of the game, as Willison moved right and slung a shot into the right side to make the score 10-8 with just 24 seconds left.

NOTES

• The Ephs held the Jumbos to by far their lowest point total of the season with the 10 goals well below the Tufts season average of 18.

• With eight goals, Williams also scored more than any team has against Tufts this year.

• Meaghan Day, Cailin Morrissey, Grace Collier, Jade Lowe, and Kiki Higgins were all instrumental for the Williams back line, causing ten turnovers and shutting down the prolific Tufts offense in the middle of the game.

• Goalie Caroline Pratt made 15 saves, coming up big for Williams time and time again to keep the team in the game.

• Williams finished the game a perfect 21-for-21 on clears, and also had seven assists, compared to three for Tufts.

• Russell led the team with three points, while she and Willison tied for the team lead with two goals apiece.

The Ephs look to bounce back from the loss on the road against the No. 12 Amherst Mammoths on Saturday. The game will begin at 1 p.m. Amherst is 6-2 on the season and 2-2 in the NESCAC, coming off of a 16-12 win over Stevens.