Wesleyan (5-3, 2-2), ranked 17th nationally, trailed on four occasions in the contest before getting the final goal from freshman Allie Lynch with 3:38 to play for a 9-8 victory over 20th-ranked Williams (2-5, 1-4) in Middletown, Conn. For Wesleyan, it was only the seventh victory over Williams in 34 all-time meetings and snapped a 25-game skid vs. the Ephs dating back to the last Wesleyan win in 1983.

It was an uphill battle for the Cardinals most of the afternoon as Williams jumped ahead 2-0 on goals by juniors Britt Spackman and Julia Nawrocki less than three minutes into the contest. Each finished the game with two goals as did sophomore Tina Nawrocki, who leads the team with 15 goals. Wesleyan rallied to tie 2-2 on a pair of goals from freshman Maggie Lile but Williams again forged a two-goal lead and hung on for a 4-3 lead at intermission.

When Spackman struck again at 28:28 of the second half, the Ephs pushed back ahead by two goals. Wesleyan tied it up at 5-5 as top scorers junior Sarah Orkin and freshman Jess Chukwu both connected, the tying goal coming at 20:38. The teams were then tied at each step with the Cardinals gaining their first advantage in the contest, 7-6, on Chukwu's fourth goal of the contest and 18th of the season, at 17:10. When freshman Anne Marie Burke ran almost end-to-end for the tying goal 30 second later and Julia Nawrocki closed out the Ephs' scoring at 13:02 off a pass from Spackman, Williams held the 8-7 edge.

At 6:33, Orkin made a strong individual run and put one over the left shoulder of Williams keeper freshman Julia Schreiber for the game's fifth tie. It was her 17th goal of the year, giving her 19 points. Williams controlled the ensuing draw but after several changes of possession, Wesleyan had the ball in the offensive end. Chukwu moved in from the left side and passed across to a cutting Lynch on the right who fired in the winner just inside the near post. The goal was the 15th of the campaign for Lynch while Chukwu picked up her 20th point with the assist.

Wesleyan got the next draw, used up half the remaining time and got off another shot that caromed off the goalpost and was recovered by the Cardinals in the midfield. With just over a minute to play, Williams junior Elizabeth Burns forced a Wesleyan turnover and Williams successfully cleared the ball into the offensive end. The Ephs got two shots at goal in the final minute with both going wide of junior keeper Rachel Stemerman, who amassed 13 stops in the game. With 10 seconds left, Wesleyan senior Beck Dorey-Stein helped knock the ball free from a Williams stick and Stemerman pounced on the ground ball, hanging on until the final seconds ticked off.

Wesleyan, winner of three in a row, hosts 11th-ranked Babson Sunday, April 6 in its next game while Williams is off until Sat., April 12 when it finishes Little Three play this year by hosting Amherst. Amherst defeated Wesleyan in overtime, 9-8, back on March 9 in the first Little Three game of the season.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Williams College....  4  4 -  8
Wesleyan University.  3  6 -  9

Williams College SCORING:
GOALS: Britt Spackman 2; Julia Nawrocki 2; Tina Nawrocki 2; Whitney Thayer 1; Anne Marie Burke 1.
ASSISTS: Britt Spackman 2; Sarah Adkins 1.

Wesleyan University SCORING:
GOALS: Jess Chukwu 4; Sarah Orkin 2; Maggie Lile 2; Allie Lynch 1.
ASSISTS: Jess Chukwu 1; Charlotte Hastings 1; Elise Kaye 1.

2008-04-05