Courtesy Williams Sports Information

Box Score

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Williams women's soccer ended their season today with a 1-0 post-season loss to Bates College. The fifth-seeded Bobcats scored early and kept the fourth-seeded Ephs at bay for the remainder of the match. Bates will advance to the NESCAC semi-finals next weekend at Tufts University.

The Ephs started well, funneling their excitement into their play and controlling the ball early. Though Bates would register the first shot of the game, Williams was connecting passes and finding seams for forwards Kate Harkey and Gabby Woodson. None of those chances resulted in a shot, however, until Ana Sani nailed one towards the lower right corner. Bates keeper Nini Spalding collared the shot but her clear was recaptured by the Ephs and Jess Hing sent a long cross from the left side that surprised Spalding by making it all the way to the net; Spalding recovered to tip it wide. Moments later, Woodson received a pass from Sani and fired a shot that got blocked by Bates defenseman Meg Coffin.

The Bobcats answered this flurry with a goal, the only one they would need for the day. Eph keeper Sarah Ginsburg, who likes to be very active and offensive, challenged an oncoming Bates forward but missed her chance to clear the ball. Sprinting back to help out, Caitlin Colesanti attempted to play the ball out of bounds beyond the goal line to give Ginsburg a chance to recover, but slipped while kicking, leaving the goal wide open for Bates' Mary Bucci to knock in the goal.

With just seconds remaining in the half, Williams had one of their best chances to tie it up as Clare Gallagher sent Joan Danver a through ball that snuck past the Bates defense. Danver hurried to shoot before the buzzer but Spalding grabbed it easily and time ran out.

The high-intensity play continued in the second half and both teams traded quality chances. Williams started things off with a trio of shots from Harkey, Woodson and Danver in quick succession. Only Danver's made it to the net as the Bobcat defense, led by Coffin, continued to thwart the Ephs offense. A few minutes later saw defender Kaolin McEvoy, normally stationed near the half-way line when the Ephs went on the offense, rushing in for a pass across the eighteen yard box from Woodson. McEvoy had a lot of open net to shoot at but Jenna Benson stepped in and again prevented the shot from reaching the net.

Perhaps Williams' best chance of the game came off a free kick taken from twenty-five yards out. Sani faked the kick and Elise Henson sent it over the human wall and towards the left post. Spalding fumbled her save and Gallagher nearly put it in. Bates continued to give Williams trouble as they looked to make it a two goal lead. In a near repeat of the play that had resulted in the first goal, Ginsburg again challenged and missed and Colesanti's clear was stopped by Jessie Gargiulo, who fired a shot that missed just wide.

As desperation took hold in the final ten minutes of play, Williams found themselves unable to win balls in the air and Coffin and her fellow defenders remained strong, preventing the Ephs from shooting. Williams pulled out all the stops in the final minute, sending Ginsburg far across the midline to help out on a corner kick taken by Alix Oliver with thirty seconds remaining. Bates cleared easily, however, and sent the ball back into the Ephs defensive end as time ran out.

Bates Coach Jim Murphy commented on the game, "It was a fantastic athletic event between two high quality teams. It really could have gone either way. You could just see the passion and heart out on that field and that's what makes the NESCAC so special. It really was a wonderful game."