MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (Sat., April 18, 2009) -- With senior goalie Michael Gerbush coming up with 13 saves to anchor a solid Williams defensive effort, the visiting Ephs (7-5, 5-3 NESCAC) defeated Wesleyan (10-3, 5-3) on the road for the first time since 2000 with a 9-5 triumph.

Combined with its 8-4 victory over Amherst earlier this year, Williams claimed its first outright Little Three crown since 1999 and denied Wesleyan at least a piece of the Little Three title for the first time in 10 years. Wesleyan had won six outright titles and shared four others since 1999. Wesleyan came into the game ranked 12th nationally in Division III.

Williams took the lead for good with just 17 second remaining in the second period as junior Richard Reuter ripped a shot past Wesleyan senior goalie Mike Borrero to give the Ephs a 4-3 edge.

Reuter opened the second-half scoring at 11:50 of the third period, his 16th goal of the year, sparking a 3-0 period for the visitors and a 7-3 margin heading into the final 15 minutes. The Cardinals got no closer than 8-5 in the fourth quarter and freshman Sam Hargrove finished off the day's scoring at 1:49 with his second of the game to seal the win. He has 15 goals for Williams.

Wesleyan led twice in the game, 1-0 on a goal 2:54 into the first period as senior Jason Ben-Eliyahu got his 19th of the season, and 2-1 on leading scorer and All-American senior Russ Follansbee's 30th goal of the campaign. That came at 1:16 of the period.

It took Williams just seven seconds to respond as sophomore Corey Jacobs won the faceoff for the Ephs and went the distance to put home a shot at 1:09, sending the game into the second quarter even at 2-2.

Williams drew first blood at 4:56 of the second period for its first advantage, coming off the stick of last year's NESCAC Rookie of the Year sophomore David Hawley. His high shot from 20 yards out gave the Ephs their first lead and they never trailed thereafter. Wesleyan got even on junior Jon Killeen's tally 55 seconds later but Williams regained the edge on Reuter's goal just before halftime.

While Wesleyan had a 37-22 margin in total shots, Williams scored on its first six shots on goal after which starter Borrero was replaced by junior Colin Campbell, who finished with three saves and three goals allowed in 25 minutes of work. Gerbush, who was a second-team all-NESCAC pick in 2008, made numerous tough saves for Williams on shots in close and collected 13 ground balls around the net.

Both Williams and Wesleyan close out their regular season on Friday, April 24. The Ephs travel to Middlebury (11-1, 7-1), which clinched the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament with a 11-10 victory over Trinity today, while Wesleyan, the only team to beat Middlebury in 2009, hosts Connecticut College (6-8, 1-7) with hopes of locking up a first-round home game for the NESCAC tournament which begins Sunday, April 26.

2009-04-18