Williams Defeats Trinity in NESCAC Semis

The Williams College Ephs rallied from a 5-goal deficit to overcome the Bantams 11-10 in the NESCAC semifinals. The Bantams struck first, on a successful free position shot by Jenn, but the Ephs quickly responded with two goals of their own. Trailing 2-1, Sarah Remes ignited a 4 goal Bantam run by assisting on goals by first-year Megan and junior Caite. First-year Kaitlin continued the run with a well placed shot off a feed from Jenn. Liz Bruno made it 5-2 with a nice drive to goal, before Williams got back on the board. The Bantams and the Ephs traded goals until the end of the half, with senior Kristin capping off the scoring on an unassisted take with 9 minutes left in the half to give the Bantams a 7-4 advantage at half-time.

The Bantams started out strong in the second half, with Alisen scoring her first of the game, followed by Kristin converting for her second goal of the game. However, the Ephs did not give up, despite being down 9-4. Momentum shifted in the Ephs favor, as they scored the next seven straight to take an 11-9 lead with 5 minutes left. The Bantams had chances, but were unable to capitalize on opportunities, scoring on only 2 of 12 free positions, while turning the ball over twelve times. The discipline seen in the first half started to crack under the Ephs’ pressure, as the Bantams picked up a total of seven yellow cards, all in the second half. Additionally, the Bantams were called for 35 fouls throughout the game, 4 of those fouls occurring within the 8 meter to give the Ephs 4 free position shots, and they converted on all four.

Alisen played a great game for the Bantams, scoring one goal, while picking up 2 ground balls, 1 draw control, and two caused turnovers. Her second caused turnover came in the last 5 minutes when her steady pressure her allowed her to intercept the ball during the Ephs’ offensive transition. It was a key play that kept the Bantams in the game, giving us another possession on attack. Unfortunately, we could not capitalize and came up just short. Williams went on to win the NESCAC Championship, beating runner-up Colby by a score of 9-4 on Sunday.