WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - After a scoreless first half, Bria Abbiati and Elizabeth Stophel broke through for Williams as the Ephs earned a 2-0 win over Trinity on Saturday.
Abbiati scored just 2:55 into the second half off an assist from Stophel, and the pair combined again with just eight seconds left in the game to finish the scoring. Ansley Burns also had an assist on the second goal.
With the win, the Ephs move to 4-1 on the season, with senior goalkeeper Margaret Huelin keeping a clean sheet in all four victories. Huelin made three saves on Saturday to preserve the win.
"It was great getting a solid conference win at home today," said Head Coach Sarah Raymond. "Trinity is a team that competes for every minute and we certainly felt that in the last few minutes of the game."
"I'm really proud of the adjustments the team made at halftime and I thought we controlled the game and created some outstanding scoring opportunities. We played with a great deal of composure throughout starting with the leadership of Margaret from the goal. Bria and Elizabeth combined in a really good ways and there were valuable minutes from one of our first years, Chloe Lee. Lots to like, but we're only halfway done for the weekend."
The first goal came after Stophel took the ball away from the Trinity defense and dribbled toward the corner, beating several defenders before sending in a low cross that found Abbiati in front. The junior forward took a touch before sending a low shot to the far post for the lead.
Stophel scored with eight seconds remaining in the game after Burns won a header off a Trinity goal kick to Abbiati, who played a perfect through ball for her teammate to run in on goal unopposed. Stophel placed a perfect shot to the far post to ice the game.
The Ephs outshot Trinity 21-7, including a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal, but the visitors stayed tough throughout and had two of their shots on goal in the final eight minutes, including one on a breakaway with just over a minute left where Huelin was positioned perfectly to make the save.
Williams will travel to face Clark University on Sunday, with kickoff set for 1pm. The Ephs will host a pair of NESCAC games next weekend, taking on Colby College on Saturday and Bowdoin College on Sunday.
