Box Score Recap courtesy of Williams College
WILLIAMSTOWN - First-year Kristina Alvarado and sophomore Evan Gancedo bagged the goals, combining with Williams' 10th clean sheet of the season, as the #2 ranked Eph Women's Soccer team earned a 2-0 victory over Tufts in Saturday's NESCAC game.
Alvarado got things started less than five minutes after kickoff, as the Ephs came out firing on all cylinders. She made a probing run at the left side of the Jumbo defense and sent a ball in towards fellow striker Kristi Kirshe, who shrugged off her defender and blindly fired a shot from close range at Jumbo keeper Emily Bowers. The Tufts freshman made the save, however Alvarado was on-hand to finish off the follow-up, tapping it in to give the Ephs an early 1-0 lead.
In the 19th minute, Bowers was called upon to prevent senior Mai Mitsuyama from scoring the first goal of her career. After a chaotic several seconds in the Jumbo penalty area, the ball finally rattled its way to the feet of Mitsuyama, who looked to find the top corner, only to see her attempt denied by Bowers.
Just five minutes later, the Jumbos almost found an equalizer through Alex Scheman. The sophomore fought through a defensive challenge from Danielle Sim at the top of the Eph penalty area, creating enough space to fire a shot at goal, but Eph keeper Tressa Palcheck was equal to it and guided it away from the back of her net.
Nine minutes after the restart, the Ephs had another chance to double their lead, as the creativity of Mitsuyama orchestrated a chance for Alvarado after Kirshe rolled a ball across the face of goal that was only just cut out by Alexa Pius in time.
Just before the hour mark, Alvarado almost notched her second goal of the game when she bypassed a pair of Jumbo defenders and sent a ball toward the bottom corner of the net. Bowers was once again there however, as she got down well to push the shot away from goal.
Three minutes later, the Jumbos came close to finding a leveler. Emma Ranalli was afforded time and space from about 25 yards out to unleash a ferocious effort that looked destined for the back of the net, before the Williams keeper was able to elevate and tip the well-struck ball onto the crossbar and out of danger.
Palcheck was not so lucky seven minutes later, when Chandler Quinton tried roughly the same shot from roughly the same location with roughly the same result, rattling Palcheck's bar. Instead of ricocheting away from the danger area however, the ball deflected right back into the Ephs' six-yard box to the feet of Jess Capone, but she was unable to find the target, skying her shot over the bar.
Gancedo earned the Ephs an insurance goal just over five minutes from full-time. With multiple options in front of her, Kirshe poked a pass toward Gancedo on the right side of the Eph attack. Gancedo hit a dipping strike that left Bowers with little to do but watch the ball sneak in just underneath her bar, sealing the Ephs' victory.
With the loss, Tufts sinks to 6-6-2 (NESCAC 4-4-1) and are in a battle for the fifth seed in the NESCAC Tournament with Bates and Middlebury. They play host to second-place Bowdoin on the final day of the regular season Tuesday in an attempt to clinch that fifth spot. Kickoff for that game is set at 3 pm.
Meanwhile, the Ephs continue their undefeated season, extending their record to 13-0-1 (NESCAC 9-0-0), and close out their regular season on Tuesday, as they travel north to Vermont to face off against conference rival Middlebury. If they win, they will hold a perfect NESCAC regular-season record and an unbeaten regular season. Kickoff is similarly scheduled for 3 pm.
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