Ephs edge Oneonta State 2-1, advance to Sweet 16
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. - The best teams know how to win games, period. No matter the place, no matter the time, Williams women's soccer finds a way to come out on top in the end. Despite not playing their best soccer, Williams edged out Oneonta State in this afternoon’s second round NCAA Tournament game, 2-1, after Annelise Snyder’s goal in the 80th minute of play gave the Ephs the advantage late in the game.
The second-ranked Ephs upped their record to an astounding 19-0-0, and advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year. The Red Dragons of Oneonta State finish their season at 12-6-3.
Oneonta State controlled the first half, as the Ephs struggled to maintain possession and find any offensive rhythm on the field; Melissa VandenBergh nearly scored just four minutes after the opening whistle, but an incredible diving save from Ephs’ goalkeep er Lauren Sinnenberg kept the Red Dragons off the scoreboard, at least for a little longer.
The visiting squad got on the board first at 17:46, forcing the Ephs to play behind for thirty minutes of the first period. VandenBergh got herself a second chance to contribute and took a free kick close to the sideline about 25 yards from the end line. Kayla Brantmeyer found the ball amidst a crowd in front of the net and headed the ball in for the early advantage.
“It is always uncomfortable to be playing from behind,” said Williams’ head coach Michelyne Pinard. “I am always impressed with our resilience. We knew that we were not playing our best soccer. We kept it simple, and once we did that we had more attacking opportunities.”
It looked as though Williams might head out of the first half losing fo r the first time all season long, until Sarah Walmsley was fouled hard just outside the 18-yard box. Just six inches closer to goal, and Williams would have had a penalty kick. Nevertheless, Sara Wild took the free kick and scored with ease, nailing a hard shot to the back of the net for the equalizer.
In the second half, both teams began to find more look s at net, as Williams had ten shots and Oneonta State had eight shots . In the final twenty minutes of the game, the Ephs picked up their intensity and it seemed to be a matter of time before they would convert. Finally, at 80:53, Snyder was able to dribble around a cluster of Red Dragon defenders to get off a great shot to the far left corner to give the Ephs the lead, 2-1.
“We were knocking on the door quite a bit,” said Pinard. “We did not have too many quality scoring opportunities, but any of those three up front are going to find a way to finish and score.”
Oneonta keeper Jamie Chyat recorded seven saves in the loss, while Lauren Sinnenberg recorded two saves with the win.
Williams will play The College of New Jersey (18-2-1) next
weekend. The other two teams in the Sectional
are Rochester (17-2-1) and Ithaca (15-4-2) The time and location
have yet to be announced.
Ephs advance to second round of NCAAs
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – Regional host Williams College dominated Keuka College, 5-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament and will face off against Oneonta State tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Williams remains one of two teams in the nation who has not lost or tied a game this season.
The Ephs, who are currently ranked second in the latest NSCAA rankings, won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament championship for the third straight year to earn a b irth into the NCAA Tournament.
The Keuka College Storm are making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after finishing second to Penn State-Harrisburg in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Tournament this past weekend. The Storm posted a 10-8 overall record and recorded an 8-2 mark in the NEAC.
Williams were visibly dominant even under an often equalizing wet and rainy field, controlling the ball and maintaining possession in their half of the field for nearly the entire conte st. span> On paper, the Ephs were equally overpowering, out shooting Keuka 43-1 and tallying 15 corner kicks.
“We came to play,” said Williams’ head coach Michelyne Pinard. “This is NCAA tourney time, and it’s all about showing up and competing and we’re glad that we were able to come out today and get on the board early. We expect to be perfect on days like this, but it’s not a fair expectation because you can’t be perfect. We just play the way we like to play, and are enjoying the opportunity to be in the tournament,”
Two goal efforts from senior captain Sarah Walmsley and star scorer Bret Eisenhart propelled the Ephs to victory. Walmsley scored the first goal of the game at 15:23 after collecting a quick pass from Tyler Rainer directly in front of net, and nailing a shot to the top right corner.
Eisenhart followed with her first goal fifteen minutes later. After dribbling free from her defender, the sophomore forward laced a slow roller that slipped past the goalkeeper’s hands and into net for the two-goal advantage. Williams could have potentially doubled their first-half lead, but had two goals whistled back by offside calls.
Eisenhart picked up right where she left off in the first half, scoring nine minutes into the second period off a savvy follow up play. Teammate Brianna Wolfson took a shot that nailed the post, and Eisenhart reacted quickly to squeeze the deflected ball just inside the left post for her second goal of the game.
Walmsley followed with her second goal at 61:30 off a two-on-two fast break with Annelise Snyder. Snyder took the ball up field, with Walmsley trailing on her right side. Snyder passed the ball to her teammate’s far right, and Walmsley raced outside of her defender to collect the pass and score. Christine Jones scored the Eph’s fifth goal, and her first goal of the season, off a corner kick in the 81st minute of play.
Keuka College finishes their season with a 10-9 record. Williams ups their undefeated record to 18-0.
“This is a very exciting time of
year,” commented Pinard. “We are thrilled to be able to play
against the best teams in the country. We will take it game by game, and hopefully
get to play in Texas.”
Oneonta moves past Skidmore, 1-0, to face Williams in 2nd round match up
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. – Oneonta State edged out Skidmore College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at Williams College this afternoon, 1-0. An early goal by the Red Dragons’ Dana DeSimone at the 7:23 mark was the lone goal of the contest, and Oneonta was able to hold off a more aggressive Thoroughbred squad in the closing minutes. Oneonta will play against regional host Williams College tomorrow at 1:00 p.m.
Oneonta took control of the first half from the opening whistle. DeSimone capitalized for the opening goal after the Skidmore goalkeeper deflected a shot from her teammate Alicia Vollmer. DeSimone corralled the deflection for the early goal.
The Red Dragons would have many more chances to score, but failed to convert. At the 35:00 minute mark, Oneonta had a goal called off after an offside call. In the second half, a shot by Samantha Ruppenthal nicked the post. In the final minutes of play, Skidmore began to find some holes in the Oneonta defense and had a few looks at net. Oneonta’s best opportunity to secure a more comfortable lead came with four minutes on the clock after Kayla Brantmeyer went in alone on goal, but couldn’t get past the Skidmore keeper, Meghan Sleezer.
Sleezer had eight saves in 90 minutes of play, while Oneonta’s goaltender recorded four saves in the win.
Skidmore finished their season with an 11-6-3 record, while the Red Dragon’s up their record to 12-5-3.
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Williams College has been selected by
the NCAA Tournament committee to host the first two rounds of the
NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Tournament this weekend.
Joining the Ephs on Cole Field this Saturday and Sunday will be Keuka College, Oneonta State and Skidmore.
Williams and Keuka will face off at 11:00 AM in Saturday’s first game, to be followed by the Oneonta State vs. Skidmore match at 1:30 PM.
Saturday’s winners will meet at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
Ticket prices each day: $6 Adults, $3 Students, $3 Seniors and $2 Children.
The Keuka College Storm are making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament after finishing second to Penn State-Harrisburg in the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Tournament this past weekend. The Storm posted a 10-8 overall record and recorded an 8-2 mark in the NEAC.
Overall the Storm has compiled a 1-2 record in NCAA Tourney play.
The leading points producer for the Storm is first year F/M Nicole Sharick who has scored 11 goals and assisted on 9 more for 31 points. The leading goal scorer for Keuka is Courtney McLaughlin who has tallied 14. McLaughlin has one assist for 29 points.
Junior netminder Ashley Vail has a 0.89 goals against average in 1,321 minutes, allowing 13 goals. Vail owns an .851 save percentage having stopped 74 attempts and she has recorded six shutouts this season.
Michelyne Pinard’s 17-0-0 Ephs won their third consecutive NESCAC title this past weekend and are making their 4th NCAA appearance under her direction and 11th overall. All-time the Ephs are 10-9-4 in NCAA Play and under Pinard have compiled a record of 5-2-1; finishing third in the NCAA Tournament last fall.
The Ephs are led in points by sophomore forward Brett Eisenhart and junior forward Annelise Snyder, both with 28. Eisenhart’s points have come from 13 goals and 2 assists, while Snyder has netted 11 goals and chipped in with 6 assists.
Senior goalie Lauren Sinnenberg who earlier this season shared time in goal with junior Julia Schreiber has logged the most time of late with Schreiber being injured. Sinnenberg has played 909 minutes, allowing six goals for a goals against average of 0.59. She has 45 saves and a save percentage of .882. Sinnenberg has three solo shutouts and has shared in four more.
The Red Dragons of Oneonta State are making their 12th appearance all-time in the NCAA Tourney and 11th consecutive. Oneonta State won it all in 2003. The Red Dragons are 12-9-2 in NCAA Tourney play.
Oneonta (11-5-3) won its 11th straight SUNYAC regular season title, but fell to Geneseo in the SUNYAC Semifinals in its last contest.
The Red Dragons’ leading goal scorers are junior midfielder Caitlin Burke and first year forward Kayla Brantmeyer, each with 5. Burke also has registered three assists to lead the team in points with 13.
First year goalie Jamie Chayat has been in goal for 1,759
minutes, where she has allowed 17 goals for a goals against average
of 0.87. Chayat has made 59 saves this season for a .780 save
percentage.
The Thoroughbreds of Skidmore College (11-4-3) are making thier
4th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and their second
straight. Overall in NCAA Tournament play the Throughbreds are
0-1-2.
Most recently Skidmore lost in the Liberty League semifinals to Hamilton 1-0.
Sophomore forward Elena Stansky leads Skidmore in goals scored with 5 (10 points) and senior forward Jenni Hibbard also has 10 points on 4 goals and 2 assists.
Sophomore goalie Meghan Sleezer has played all 1,680 minutes in goal this season for the Throughbreds. Stansky has a goals against average of 0.64, having allowed 12 goals. She has notched 73 saves this season for a .859 save percentage and she has 8 shutouts.
