Williamstown, MA - The Williams College Ephs (4-6,2-4 NESCAC) were back at Farley-Lamb Field to host their rival the #6 Amherst College Mammoths (7-2,4-2 NESCAC). It was a battle all the way to the end, but the Williams defense came up huge in the fourth quarter, shutting down Amherst's offense and bringing this game home 9-6.
Coming off a stinging loss against Tufts University, there was no doubt that Williams came to play this afternoon from the first faceoff. Ian Kim got things going for the Ephs with a great win and moved the ball up field into the hands of the offense. Harrison Cross took advantage and absolutely sent one on the net that hit the post, but gave Williams some good momentum. It was only a matter of time after that play that the Ephs would capitalize. Jack Sartorius got Williams' first goal off a great ball from Will Doran. After this it was an immense amount of back and forth play. Both sides with good chances through all three zones. Aidan Housenbold was having a great quarter for the defense, coming up with several ground balls that helped the Ephs move up the field in transition. The only blot on the map was Amherst capitalzing on one of their chances.Thequarter still ended with the score even at 1-1.
It was not the perfect start to the second, with Amherst managing to get their second goal, but Williams was quick to respond. Jesse Shapiro got himself on the board, this time with the help of Jack Sartorius to bring the game back to even. Over the next several minutes Amherst was laying the pressure on. The Williams defense was holding fast and goaltender Matt Wetmore was doing his thing between the pipes helping pick up anything that came his way. Amherst would eventually score again, but only a couple minutes later Williams responded with a sick goal off the stick of Ryan Johnson. The quarters may have ended with Amherst leading 3-2, but there was no doubt this was still anyone's game.
Amherst racked up shot attempts in the opening minutes of the second half. They were looking to take control of the third quarter and managed to secure a two goal lead in the first couple minutes. But Ryan Johnson, with his second unassisted goal, took fully advantage of the angle and sent one into the Amherst net. It was a determined effort by Wyatt Cotton to pick up a grounder and get the ball up field. Harrison Cross then found AJ Zuleta who drove one home evened the score 5-5. Only a minute later, off a great play by Brendan Coolen, Williams cleared the ball and Ryan Johnson, completing his hat trick, got his third unassisted goal of the afternoon and Williams had the lead back. The Ephs weren't done however, as Jesse Shapiro, assisted by Tucker Graham, took this game away from Amherst by 2. The period ended with Amherst getting one more goal, but Williams held the lead at 7-6.
It was all defense in the fourth quarter. After the nine-minute mark, there were no goals from either squad. The good news is that Williams had already managed to snet 2 goals by that point. The first came off a great defensive play by Ryan Johnson, who got the ball into the hands of Ryan Nagel who found Jack Sartorius to make the score. 8-6. One more goal from Harrison Cross with another assist by Will Doran was all it would take. The last nine minutes was an all out battle, but Williams showed their determination and hung in there to the very end to secure the victory.
Eph head coach George McCormack had this to say after the game, "I was really proud of how our guys bounced back from a tough loss on Wednesday. Our defense really showed up today and our offense was led by Ryan Johnson and Jack Sartorius."
