Williamstown, MA -- It was a must win game today for the Williams College Ephs (6-8, 3-6) in order for them to move forward. The Ephs were hosting the 19th-ranked Middlebury College Panthers (8-6, 6-3) on their path towards the playoffs. It was an amazing game, with highs and lows, but the boys in purple pulled through and secured victory by a score of 12-11.
The first quarter had a slow start for Williams. The panthers managing to start with 2 goals of their own, but it was right back to work for the men in purple. Brody Page started getting things going to the Ephs, the first year's effort leading to the first showing of what the offense had to offer. And, after a great save by Matt Wetmore, Will Doran off a pass from Ryan Johnson, got the scoring going for Williams. The ensuing couple of minutes was a battle for both teams before Williams tied things up with a great man-up goal by Jesse Shapiro, taking full advantage of the Eph offensive pressure. The Williams defense ended in good form, killing off a minute long man advantage for Middlebury to end the quarter with a score of 2-2.
It was a strong start to the second quarter for Williams, Aidan Housenbold and Drew Nicholson connecting to give Williams a 3-2 lead. It was a challenging few minutes for the Ephs after the early goal. Middlebury went on to score 4 in a row before Williams responded. There were lot of good things happening for the Ephs, however, as the defense was resilient and they weathered the storm. Their efforts were rewarded off a great effort from Tucker Graham, who got the ball up field and Harrison Cross found Seamus Regan to end the quarter at 6-4.
There was no question that Williams came out absolutely flying after halftime! After two shots from Harrison Cross and Jesse Shapiro, Ryan Johnson was the lucky number three who buried a goal for Williams and chipping away at the Middlebury lead. A face-off win from Ethan Filler saw the Ephs immediately pouring on the pressure. After numerous shots and recovered loose balls, Jesse Shapiro was the one who brought this game back to even at 6-6. It was all back and forth after this as the Panthers tried to push back. Jesse Shapiro scored, then Middlebury, then Middlebury again, before senior Nolan Cooleen brought it back to 8-8. Middlebury scored next, but Jack Sartorius didn't let that stand as he scored with time winding down to see the third quarter end 9-9.
It was anyone's game, and what a game it was. Middlebury opened the scoring, but Williams was still applying pressure. Ryan Johnson demonstrating his will to win with some great battles in the midfield. The boys in purple were rewarded when, off a Middlebury penalty, Seamus Regan scored off a great pass from Davis Miller and brought this game back to within 1 goal. Brody Page, the man who would tie this game at 11-11, gave the boys the jam they needed, as Jesse Shapiro gave the Ephs the lead at 12-11. Matt Wetmore sealed the deal with a huge save, giving Williams this most important win.
Coach George McCormack had this to save after the game "Great win for us tonight against a very strong Middlebury team. Many guys contributed tonight at the offensive end and our defensive unit played really strong."
