Ephs’ NCAA run continues with 16-5 win against Colorado College

MEDFORD, Mass. - The Williams College women's lacrosse team defeated the No. 25 Colorado College Tigers 16-5 in the Sweet Sixteen of the Div. III NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon, in a game hosted by Tufts University.

Sydney Puntus led the way with a hat trick for the Ephs, while

Franny Donohue,

Paige Nelson, and

Reece Willison had two goals apiece. Donohue led the team with four assists, and Puntus added two assists of her own. In goal,

Charlotte Cote had six saves.

The Ephs jumped out to a fast start when

Sydney Puntus finished a wraparound shot off of the post just under 40 seconds into the game. About three minutes later,

Cece Tauber got inside with a nifty spin move and finished at a tight angle to give the Ephs a 2-0 lead. Then,

Reece Willison deposited a bouncing finish to make it 3-0 with 10:25 still to play in the quarter.

Williams continued to surge in the first quarter. After a scoreless spell,

Coco Norman scored on a free-position shot with 5:57 to go in the first. Willison applied the finishing touches on a strong start with a driving goal with seventeen seconds remaining in the first, and the Ephs took a 5-0 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter was more of the same. 48 seconds into the quarter,

Ainsley Abel drove inside, splitting two defenders for a goal. After the Tigers got on the board, Puntus and Tauber executed a pretty give-and-go inside and Puntus finished to make the score 7-1 with 11:56 left in the quarter.

The Ephs' All-NESCAC honorees got involved to keep the momentum going. First, NESCAC First-Teamer

Franny Donohue finished her 54th goal of the season on a strong drive inside with just under ten minutes to go in the second period.

Donohue would then find All-NESCAC second-teamer

Paige Nelson for goals on back-to-back possessions as the Ephs climbed to a 10-1 lead late in the first half. To punctuate the half, Donohue stripped a Tigers player of the ball, Puntus picked it up in transition, and then found

Allison Lee for a bang-bang goal with 2:05 left. The Ephs' defense continued to shut the Tigers down over the rest of the half, and the team took an 11-1 lead into halftime.

At the break, the Ephs had 16 shots on goal, compared to six for the Tigers.

Williams continued to play well as a team in the third period.

McKenna Dwyer got on the board with an inside finish at the 9:25 mark to add to the lead. After a Colorado College goal, the Ephs responded with goals from

Anna Miller and Donohue to take a 14-2 lead into the fourth.

Both teams continued to compete in the fourth quarter. Puntus opened the scoring with a close-range goal off of a nice feed from Donohue. Then, after the Tigers scored a series of late goals, the Ephs finished off the 16-5 win with a free-position goal from

CeCe Upton.

Up next for the Ephs is a NCAA Quarterfinal match-up at 4:30pm on Sunday against Tufts, who will host the game. The Jumbos are coming off of a 16-7 victory over Gettysburg and are currently ranked second in the country.