AMHERST, MA – The only two wins over archrival Williams College in Amherst College women's hockey program history came last season in overtime fashion, but this year's Lord Jeffs dominated the Ephs from start to finish to cap off their home stand with a convincing 7-0 win over the Ephs. Amherst moves to 4-0-2 (4-0-2 NESCAC) with the win, while Williams falls to 1-5-0 overall and 1-3 in the NESCAC.
The seventh-ranked Lord Jeffs were kept at bay early on by the struggling Ephs thanks in large part to junior goaltender Kate Schwed. After Amherst was given its second power play opportunity of the opening period, first-year Courtney Hanlon (Fullerton, CA) sent a rocket off the post to the goalie's right side, and less than a minute later sophomore Kate Dennett (Highlands Ranch, CO) had a point blank shot denied by Schwed.
After earning a brief 5-on-3 advantage, a flurry of Williams offense kept Amherst first-year goalie Caroline Hu (Cerritos, CA) on her toes, as she was able to help the Jeffs escape the power play unharmed with 4:20 left to play in the period. Hu was once again forced to come up with a nice save less than two minutes later when the Ephs were given another power play opportunity, as the rookie netminder kicked away a nicely-placed Williams shot.
It looked as though the teams would head into the first intermission notched at 0-0, but Amherst junior Tarasai Karega (Detroit, MI) intercepted a sloppy clear attempt from the Williams defense and headed straight for the net. Karega stormed in from Schwed's left side and lifted the puck high to the near post, where it deflected off the goalie's shoulder and whizzed just underneath the crossbar for the first goal of the game. Karega's fifth goal of the season allowed the Jeffs to head into the locker room with a 1-0 advantage.
Amherst played as if it were on a power play as it dominated the opening two minutes of the second frame, and the Jeffs eventually capitalized on their offensive spark when junior Anna MacLean (Edina, MN) and first-year Randi Zukas (Glen Head, NY) set up senior co-captain Megan Quinn (Wakefield, MA) for the second goal of the night after just two minutes and 12 seconds of second-period action.
Karega netted her second goal of the game seven minutes later after Amherst was given another 5-on-4 opportunity. The junior forward skated out of trouble and used some fancy stick-work to give herself enough breathing room to let loose a quick wrist shot to the near post, as she was able to fool Schwed and sneak the puck inside the post to the goalie's left.
Sophomore Molly Malloy (Stamford, CT) padded Amherst's lead with less than three minutes remaining in the third period, as she sent a hard shot inside the near post to Schwed's right side for her second goal in as many days. The Jeffs took their comfortable 4-0 lead into the second intermission in great position to pick up the program's third consecutive win over Williams.
First-year Megan Curry (Shorewood, MN) tacked on another insurance goal less than three minutes into the third period to mark her first collegiate goal, with fellow rookie Hanlon picking up her second goal of the weekend with 8:20 remaining in regulation. First-year Britt Evans (Edina, MN) also tallied her first career goal in the final period, giving Amherst a 7-0 lead with 64 seconds showing on the clock.
Williams came alive in the final minutes of the game and put together some nice sequences on offense, but the Ephs were unable to get anything past Hu, who finished 18 saves for Amherst. Schwed stopped 21 shots in the first periods before handing goaltending duties over to sophomore Betsy Laurin, who came up with 10 saves in the final frame.
