GENEVA, N.Y. -- Senior goalkeeper Olivia Barnhill stopped four of five penalty kicks Sunday to push the Williams College women's soccer team past William Smith and back in the NCAA Div. III Final Four.

 

Williams (17-1-4) will face Christopher Newport in the national semifinal contest Friday, November 30 at 7:45 p.m. on the campus on the University of North Carolina Greensboro. The defending national champion Ephs advanced to their third Final Four in four years and their fourth in five years. 

 

Eph head coach Michelyne Pinard talked about the significance of this year's team making it to the Final Four.

 

"Honestly, I don't really have words right now. This team just gutted it out. But they didn't just gut out this weekend, they've gutted the whole season out. It feels like a challenge each week with regard to injuries specifically. But this team, instead of falling apart, have come together," she said.

 

Against William-Smith the Ephs fell behind early, surrendering a goal off a free kick in the 5th minute. 

 

But 20 seconds later, after a long skipping pass from Sarah Kelly '20, the Ephs looked poised to equilize. Aspen Pierson '21 received the pass, made headway along left flank, and then snapped a pass to Georgia Lord '21 at the top of the 18. After Lord rolled the ball past several defenders, Liz Girvan '22 came and punched the ball into the goal, netting the equalizer and her first collegiate goal. 

 

Williams kept the advantage for the rest of the first half, earning two shots on goal in the 31st minute that could have given the Ephs a 2-1 lead. In the second half, William-Smith won the majority of possesion, with forwards Julia Keogh and Megan Barwick putting dangerous pressure on the Eph's backline. 

 

Head coach Pinard talked about how the backline handled the pressure.

 

"Our backs were just incredible. They're doing everything we've asked them to do. [Assistant coach] Sarah Raymond has done an incredible job organizing them and helping them believe in themselves and how they can, as a three, keep some of the best forwards in the country at bay," she said.

 

The game went to overtime. Again, the Ephs had to play defense and look for a breakaway. In the 108th minute, after a William-Smith defender slipped on the snow, Sarah Hollinger '19 got the breakaway and was one-on-one with William-Smith goalkeeper Veronica Romines. Hollinger took the shot at edge of penalty area, but Romines made a fantastic save, sending the game to PK's.

 

Ephs Aspen Pierson and Rain Condie '22 converted to give Williams a 2-1 lead heading into the final penalty kick. William-Smith would need to score to send the game to sudden death PK's. 

 

William-Smith's Jocelyn Mitiguy sent the ball on net. Senior Barnhill dove and deflected the ball and then was mobbed by her teammates, ending a spectacular performance in which she stopped four of five penalty kicks.

 

Barnhill noted the teams resilience.

 

"I think a lot things were going against us, and I think it's a credit to the team how resilient we are. No matter what happens we're still going to fight," she said.

 

Men's Basketball

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Kyle Scadlock scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds Sunday to lead Williams to an 88-57 win over Southern Vermont College.

 

Bobby Casey scored a team-high 18, and Henry Feinberg scored 11 for the Ephs (2-0).

 

SVC's Donnell Frayer scored a game-high 23.

 

Williams hosts MCLA on Tuesday.

 

Women's Squash

CLINTON, N.Y. - On day two of opening weekend, the Ephs faced Connecticut College and Hamilton. 

 

The Ephs used a 5 court system in their first match of the day against Connecticut College. Sophomore Sarah Willwerth (#2), sophomore Abby LeBlanc (#4), freshman Alex Pear (#6), and sophomore Cassie Deshong (#8) led the charge for the Ephs in the first round of matches. Willwerth, LeBlanc, and Pear won their matches comfortably in three games against their Camel opponents.

 

Deshong fought hard but was met with a tough opponent and was beaten in three games. Next on for the Ephs were sophomore Julia Ward (#1), senior captain Esther Baek (#3), freshman Kathryn Wright (#5), and sophomore Adrienne Conza (#7). Feeding off of the momentum provided from the first wave, Ward, Baek, Wright, and Conza all triumphed over their opponenets in three games. 

 

Only a couple hours after completing their first match against Connecticut College, the Ephs were back on to face Hamilton. Using a 3 court system for this match, Baek, Pear, and Deshong were first on to battle their opponenets.

 

Baek and Pear delivered strong three game wins. Deshong gave her opponent a good run, but was ultimately defeated in three games. Willwerth, Wright, and Conza continued the Ephs' charge with another trio of victories. Building off of the strong performances thus far, Ward and LeBlanc both beat their oppoenents in three games.

 

Men's Squash

ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ephs took on Cornell and Hobart on Saturday in their first matches of the season.

 

In an electric, crowd packed match, the No. 21 Men fell to No. 15 Cornell. Freshman Krish Bhavnani (#9), Junior David Pincus (#6) and Freshman Jacob Bassil (#3) were on first. Bhavnani was a step too slow and was edged out in three games, while Pincus and Bassil tested their opponents to close four game duals. The second round of matches was led by Senior Anand Butler (#8), Sophomore A.J. Solecki (#5), and Junior Will Means (#2). Butler, Solecki, and Means were all defeated 3-0 against high caliber players.

 

Senior Co-Captain Ben Eisenberg, Sophomore Wyatt Khosrowshahi, and Senior Co-Captain John Fitzgerald battled in the last round of matches. Eisenberg and Khosrowshahi pushed their opponents to a fifth and deciding game, while Fitzgerald was still reganing form after coming back from time off the court and lost in three games to a talented opponent. 

 

A couple of hours later, the Men returned to play Hobart, leaving with a 7-2 victory. In a challenge of endurance, the Ephs Men were rock solid from the #3-#9 positions, each player earning 3-0 victories. Bassil dropped in four games in a competitive match, while Fitzgerald struggled to regain his strong from the previous season.