Williams Advances Past Tufts 4-2 in Women's Soccer Semifinals
Courtesy Williams Sports Information
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – The last time the Williams women’s soccer team faced off against the Tufts Jumbos on Oct. 24, the two squads played eighty-six minutes of scoreless soccer under heavy rain before Ephs forward Brianna Wolfson scored a late goal to preserve her team’s undefeated season. Today, Williams mounted a 3-0 lead in the first twenty-five minutes of play to advance to the finals of the 2009 NESCAC Championship for the third consecutive season with a 4-2 victory over Tufts.
Tufts finishes their season with an 8-7-1 overall record. Williams ups their overall record to 16-0-0.
Williams midfielder Sara Wild scored two of the Ephs first three goals, tallying her first score at the 10:55 mark. Wild adeptly dribbled around her defender outside the 18-yard box to find space to let off a shot. She nailed a shot right to Tufts keeper, Kate Minnehan. Minnehan got a touch on the ball, but bobbled the save and allowed the ball to get past her into the net for the early Williams lead.
Ephs defender Kara Duggan scored the second goal of the game in her signature goal-scoring style. Tyler Rainer assisted on the play after collecting a corner kick from the far post, and playing a cross towards net. Duggan headed the ball for the two-goal advantage. Wild rounded out the Ephs early scoring at the 22:19 mark, capitalizing on a foul in front of net. She laced a ball to the bottom left corner for the 3-0 lead.
Tufts would not go down without a fight, and narrowed the lead just one minute later. With the Ephs defenders preventing the Jumbos from getting any shots off close to net, Alix Michael took a shot from far out that was perfectly placed above a leaping Ephs keeper for the visiting team’s first goal of the game.
Tufts got within one goal of the
Ephs after scoring early in the second half. Sara Nolet used her
6-foot frame to head a cross into the back left corner to bring the
score to 3-2. The two goals by Tufts were the most goals allowed on
Cole
Field in the 2009 season.
Less than five minutes later, at 52:29, Tyler Rainer scored the Ephs fourth goal for a more comfortable lead. Off a pass from Brett Eisenhart, Rainer quickly dribbled outside and away from her defender and placed a ball that curved perfectly to the top left corner for the 4-2 lead.
Lauren Sinnenberg recorded 6 saves
in the win, while Minnehan tallied 7 saves in the Jumbos’
loss.
Williams will face Middlebury, a 1-0 winner over Amherst, tomorrow
at 12:00 p.m.
