Women's Hockey earns first point of season, tying Wesleyan 1-1
 |
The Ephs, now with a record of 0-3-1, managed to throw 48 shots at Cardinal netminder Rachel Stemerman over the course of the game. However, they also squandered four power-play opportunities, and scored their only goal with an extra attacker on the ice and a mere 23 seconds left in regulation time.
It looked as if Wesleyan sophomore forward Sena Ito's backhander early in the first period (6:04) would stand as the lone goal of the game until junior forward (and the team's leading scorer with 5 points) Tracy Ferriter knocked in her second goal of the season off a rebound created by senior Mallory Green's drive from the slot. Stermerman had an outstanding game for the Cardinals, stopping 39 shots before allowing that game-tying goal, as well as eight additional saves in the overtime period. The Ephs junior goalie Sarah Plunkett settled down after allowing that early shot to sneak by, although she did not have much consistent action to speak of, facing only 18 total shots and just one in overtime.
"We did a really good job of getting the puck to the net in this game," said Williams head coach Shannon Bryant, "but we need to do a lot better job of taking advantage of our opportunities. Not converting on the power-play hurt us today."
The team is now just 1 for 11 on the power-play this year, and their penalty kill has allowed 5 goals in 17 tries by opponents. It seems the Ephs will must focus on improving the special teams aspect of their game, among other things if they want to compete in a very competitive and highly skilled conference.
