Ephs take down Colby, 18-10, behind strong opening period

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College men's lacrosse team got off to an explosive start against the Colby Mules on Saturday afternoon in the team's first home game of NESCAC play. The Ephs jumped out to a 6-1 advantage in the first period and never looked back en route to an 18-10 win.
 
The result marks the 11th straight victory for Williams against Colby dating back to 2016. With the win, the Ephs improve to 2-1, while the Mules drop to 0-2 with the loss.
 
Williams opened with a quick flurry. First, Gavin Timoney scooped up a ground ball and sprinted around the net for a wraparound finish, his first goal of the season, to get the Ephs on the board with 11:29 to go in the first period. The Ephs then won the ensuing faceoff, and Tucker Graham went up field and passed to Ryan Nagle for the finish to put the Ephs on top, 2-0.
 
After a Colby goal to make it 2-1, Williams put the pedal down. First, AJ Zuleta dropped a pass to Jack Sartorius, who flung home a shot into the bottom right corner with 10:07 to go in the first half to make the score 3-1. Then, Timoney scored his second goal of the game with an aggressive driving finish on the left side.
 
With just under six minutes left in the first period, Will Doran added to the lead with a wraparound finish, and Aidan Housenbold capped the dominant period with a goal on a transition give-and-go with Sartorius. The final four minutes of the first quarter were stifling defensively from the Ephs, and they took a 6-1 lead into the second frame.
 
The Ephs held their lead in the second period. After Colby got the scoring started, Williams responded with a strong two-man play, as Nagle hit a cutting Doran for a close-range finish at the 10:12 mark in the period to make it 7-2. Five minutes later, Nagle scored himself on a rebound to give the Ephs an 8-2 lead.
 
After Colby scored two late goals to close the gap toward the end of the first half, the Ephs halted the Mules' momentum with a key goal. Williams won the faceoff, and then Nick Reich found Doran inside for a finish to make it 9-4 heading into halftime.
 
Timoney opened the third period by completing his hat trick on a long-range finish into the bottom left corner to make the score 10-4. Colby responded with a goal, and then the Ephs held the Mules scoreless for six minutes in a row. During that time, Reich scored his first career goal on an inside finish off a pass from Cade Schuckman, and then Doran scored another wraparound for his fourth goal of the game. 
 
To close the third period, Joe Ladocsi joined Reich with his first career goal, giving the Ephs a 13-6 lead going into the fourth period.
 
The fourth period was more of the same inspired play for Williams. With 9:31 to play, Ralph Vogel drove on the left side to finish a low shot for his first career goal, putting Williams ahead 15-7. A minute later, Davis Miller scored an impressive long-range finish from the wrong side of the midfield circle on an empty net to put Williams ahead 16-7. 
 
With under five minutes to play, Zach Falls got in on the action with a pair of goals, the second one from near midfield to put the finishing touches on an 18-10 Williams' victory.
 
The Ephs will look to build on this performance on Tuesday against Vassar. The game will take place at 4:30 p.m. on Farley-Lamb Field.