Courtesy Williams Sports Information

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Williams (17-0-1) took the first step towards its ultimate goal of winning a national championship, dealing visiting Husson 16-5-1) a 3-0 loss to advance in the 2008 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. The Ephs will face the College of New Jersey, a 3-0 winner over Western Conn. St., at a site to be determined.

The two teams battled windy, cold conditions and boughts of sleet on Cole Field, but the Ephs used a 26-6 advantage in shots and a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks to power past Husson.

Williams, fresh off back-to-back conference championships, was awarded a first-round bye in the tournament while Husson, the champion of the North Atlantic Conference, advanced to the second round upon defeating Norwich this past Wednesday, 2-0.

The Ephs struggled to find offensive fluidity early in the first half, but began to piece together smart offensive sequences as the game progressed. Williams’ aggressive attack finally paid dividends with 2:55 to play in the first period.

Sarah Walmsley and Bret Eisenhart teamed up for the first score. Walmsley crossed a long ball to the far left post, where Eisenhart collected, and easily laced the ball into the net for the lead.

The Braves’ best opportunity to score came early in the second half, when Shelby Bradford unleashed a shot on goal from well outside the penalty box. An experienced Ephs keeper, Lauren Sinnenberg, timed the ball well and leaped for the save.

Fatigue, and well-placed pressure by Williams, began to set it on for Husson in the latter half of play.

Williams continued to build their lead on two unassisted goals that displayed the power and shooting ability of their squad. Brianna Wolfson notched goal number two at 63:16 with a hard shot to the back left corner that the keeper could not get her hands on. Ten minutes later, at 73:21, Sara Wild capitalized off a whistled foul and used a free kick to rip an untouched ball into net for the 3-0 margin of victory.