#8 Ephs Square Off Against Bates in NESCAC Quarterfinals

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The No. 8-ranked Williams College women's soccer team has been rewarded for its outstanding 2026 regular season, as the Ephs earned the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament for the first time since 2018 and will host eighth-seeded Bates Saturday at 11 a.m. during the quarterfinal round on Cole Field.

"We are excited to start our playoff season this weekend on Cole," said seventh-year head coach Sarah Raymond. "We face Bates, which we have not seen since the start of the year so that is also exciting. The Bobcats are a much improved team since that first game, so we know they will be tough and it is going to be a battle."

The Ephs (11-2-1, 8-1-1 NESCAC) have compiled an abundance of success on the national and conference level, winning NCAA Division III Championships during the 2015, 2017 and 2018 seasons and NESCAC titles in 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2017. Last season, Williams made a run to the conference championship game, and hosted first and second-round action on the national stage at Cole Field.

The 2026 version of the team has posted signature wins at then-23rd-ranked Wesleyan, 3-1, on Oct. 17. In a 1-0 triumph during the season finale at No. 25 Middlebury Tuesday afternoon, sophomore forward Chloe Lee buried her first collegiate game-winning goal in the 33rd minute, clinching the top seed in the conference tournament for the Ephs.

Williams has been led offensively by sophomore Maya Lloyd (6 goals, 4 assists) and senior captain Bria Abbiati (5 goals, 5 assists), as Lloyd has delivered in the clutch with three game-winning tallies. Junior forward Elizabeth Stophel has applied a relentless amount of pressure on opposing defenses, including scoring the game-winning goal in a 6-0 triumph over visiting University of Southern Maine on Oct. 18.

First-year Alli Aleman (3 goals, 3 assists), and sophomores Lucy Carrel (4 goals) and Olivia Bevilacqua (2 goals, 3 assists) have also been pivotal factors on the attack. Abbiati and Carrel buried the game-winning tallies in 1-0 victories over Bates and Bowdoin on Sept. 5 and 20, respectively.

The Ephs' defense has been phenomenal this season, as the unit has outscored opponents, 34-5. Williams has recorded nine shutouts and never allowed more than one goal in a game. Junior goalkeeper Chelsea Mohammed has gone 11-1-1 and recorded five individual shutouts, while leading the NESCAC in goals-against average (0.33) and save percentage (.882).

"It has been a great season so far," said Raymond. "I am proud of this group for securing home-field advantage and the No. 1 seed. We know that all of that means nothing at this point of the year. It is now one game at a time and each game is its own season. I am confident that we will show up with the same intention we have in the second part of the year, which includes playing to our identity right from the start of the game. We cannot wait."

Williams has gone undefeated against Bates in the last 15 meetings, compiling a 13-0-2 span during that stretch. The Bobcats (7-6-2, 3-6-1 NESCAC) have been led this season by Whitney Ladich (9 goals, 3 assists), Gwyn Jamison (5 goals, 6 assists) and Eleanor Martin (6 goals, 2 assists).