Nov. 12, 2008

By Amy Farnum Novin
NCAA.com

It does not matter what the prize happens to be, the Williams College women’s soccer team wants to win it.

So, it’s no surprise that when you look at the Ephs record over the last two years, it pops out at you. The top-ranked Ephs boast a 16-0-1 mark this season, after posting a 17-1 record last year with their only loss coming to Hamilton in the NCAA Championship third round.

“One of the special things about this team is that there are 23 competitors,” said head coach Michelyne Pinard. “They just love to compete. We were joking the other day that it doesn’t matter if it’s a game of tag or the NESCAC championship – they love to compete and, of course, they love to win. It just seems like they refuse to lose. They love being at the field everyday – working hard and competing.”

Williams has been successful during Pinard’s seven-year tenure, qualifying for the New England Small College Athletic Conference Championship each season, and advancing to the NCAA Division III Championship in 2004 and 2007. But last year, a switch seemed to click, putting the Ephs into overdrive.

“We lost four seniors, who had played a huge role on and off the field,” said Pinard. “They really set the tone last year with a large first-year class. Now, we have a very large sophomore class who had instilled in them that level of competition. Also a commitment by everyone to being the best teammate possible on and off the field has really been a part of our team success.”
 
“I think that my class, and the class above us, feels like we built this program and brought it along, and we’ve instilled an absolute refusal to lose,” said senior Hannah Ratcliffe. “There’s such a competitive fire within the team, day in and day out at practices, at games, it’s always there.”

The Ephs became the first-ever NESCAC team in league history to win back-to-back championships with a 3-2 overtime victory against Amherst Nov. 9 -- avenging the only “blemish” on their record this year, a 1-1 tie with Lord Jeffs in late October.

An asset of its great depth, Williams has outscored foes 48-9 on the year, surrendering more than one goal in a game just twice this season.

“In order to be a great team, you have to take care of both sides of the ball,” said Pinard. “We spend a lot of time talking about how we defend as 11, we attack as 11.”

Senior Gabrielle Woodson leads the offense with 31 points on 12 goals and seven assists, while junior Brianna Wolfson follows with 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists. Sara Wild has netted seven tallies, and Annelise Snyder has scored five. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Sinnenberg has compiled a 0.50 goals against average and an .844 save percentage while posting seven of the team’s 10 shutouts.

“A lot of people are scoring goals, which makes us harder to deal with,” said Pinard. “Certainly, Brianna, Gabby and Sara score the bulk of them, but so many people are contributing on that front. Our defenders are just terrific and shut down opposing forwards so well, and when they can’t, (Sinnenberg) takes care of things. We really are 23 deep. We have great players that don’t get to play as much because we have such a talented starting 11.”

Pinard says it’s not difficult to keep the team’s intensity high.

“Every time we show up, our goal is to compete with fire,” said Pinard. “There are days when it doesn’t happen, but looking over the last two years as a coach, I think maybe there’s been only five times when I’ve had to ask them to work harder. That’s just special, and it makes my job so easy. Certainly there are lulls, but the lulls are usually from fatigue because it’s such a grueling season.”

The abrupt loss in last year’s NCAA Championship third round has also fueled that fire.
 
“It was amazing to get that far last year, and get to see what the competition is like, but losing to Hamilton and watching them win the next day on our field – it hurt a lot and definitely left a bitter taste in our mouths,” said Ratcliffe. “We were ready to start working immediately. We had a great off-season and people were working hard on their own. We had nine months to get ready for the season, and everyone was so fired up (to get started).”

Williams will face the winner of the first round contest between Husson (15-4-0), the champion of the North Atlantic Conference, and Norwich (15-4-2), champions of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, being held on Nov. 13.

“We really are trying to stick with our game plan and be a dynamic, attacking team, who takes care of the ball all over the field,” said Pinard. “That’s our goal, and that doesn’t change with who we play.”