WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Freshman Alison Lu (Palo Alto, Calif.) provided the game's only goal, which came in the 68th minute, as the Williams College women's soccer team edged Wentworth Institute of Technology, 1-0, in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament.
With the win, the Ephs, who are ranked third in the NSCAA Division III Poll and fourth in the D3Soccer.com Poll, advance to next weekend's sectionals and will face either Johns Hopkins or Christopher Newport. Williams improves to 17-0-2 on the season and runs its unbeaten streak to 28 games (25-0-3), dating back to last season. The Leopards, making their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, conclude an outstanding campaign at 16-4-3.
Throughout the first half, Williams carried play and had a 12-1 shot advantage at the half. However, of those 12 shots, just five went on goal and were saved by sophomore Micaela Robinson (Goshen, N.Y.). In the 30th minute the Ephs appeared to take a 1-0 lead when a corner kick went directly into the net but the goal was negated due to a foul.
A pair of shots midway through the second half by junior Emily Richard (Fremont, N.H.) and freshman Sidney Brogan (Los Angeles, Calif.) both gave Wentworth a chance to take the lead; however sophomore Olivia Barnhill (New York, N.Y.) saved both bids to keep it a scoreless contest.
Lu's goal came at the 67:57 mark. Sophomore Kristina Alvarado (Murietta, Calif.) brought the ball in along the left side and fed senior Kristi Kirshe (Franklin, Mass.). Kirshe sent a cross through the box where Lu put a shot past Robinson to the right side. The goal was the first allowed by the Black & Gold in the last 629:44.
With 17:37 remaining in the contest, the Ephs nearly went up 2-0, however Robinson made a beautiful diving stop on a senior Gabs Amos-Grosser (Hillsborough, Calif.) shot to keep it a one-goal game.
The remainder of the game saw limited chances for both teams. With time winding down, senior Mary Pastorelli (Whitesboro, N.Y.), who was moved forward from her normal defender position, put a shot on net but Barnhill came up with the save.
Barnhill made four saves, with three coming in the second half. Robinson made seven shots in the loss. She finishes the year allowing just six goals in 1504:27 for a goals against average of 0.36, the lowest in program history. Williams had a 27-4 shot advantage and took all of the game's 10 corner kicks.
Wentworth's nine seniors – Pastorelli, Morgan Miller (Schenectady, N.Y.), Rachel Perras (Portsmouth, R.I.), Kristen Carroll (Tewksbury, Mass.), Amanda Weinberger (Colchester, Conn.), Jen Bergeron (Leominster, Mass.), Mykaela Scarpace (Marlborough, Conn.), Michelle Murphy (West Islip, N.Y.), and Mary Annon (Concord, N.H.) leave the program with a 49-25-13 record, including an impressive 33-7-5 mark over the last two seasons.