WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Cardinals (0-7-5, 0-2-4 NESCAC) pulled out to an 1-0 lead, but were eventually defeated by the the Williams Ephs (9-3-1, 6-1-1 NESCAC)  3-1 this afternoon at the Lansing Chapman Rink. Wesleyan took the lead initially, but Williams scored three consecutive goals to secure the victory.

In net for the Ephs this afternoon was freshman Michael Pinios, racking up his seventh start in his first year as an Eph. Pinios came into this contest with a .958 save percentage. In net for the Cardinals was Dawson Sprigings, who came into his tenth start of the season with a .886 save percentage. Pinios made 25 saves in the match, while Sprigings made 22.

Wesleyan got on the board early in the first period, after the Ephs failed to clear the puck from their zone. At 4:59, junior James Kline of the Cardinals slid one past Pinios after receiving the puck from the left point, accruing his sixth goal on the season. Kline was assisted on the play by teammates Cam McCusker and Jay Matthews.

This score rounded out action for the first period, the Cardinals going into the second with a 1-0 lead. Shot count after the first was 13-10 in Wesleyan's favor.

After a power play on each side, the Ephs tied the game just over half way through the match. At 13:10, junior Alex Hagerty scored his second goal in as many games, firing the puck immediately off of the draw. Hagerty was assisted on the play by senior Matt Werner, bringing the game to 1-1.

After two periods, the game remained tied. Shot count for the secon period was 10-1 for the Ephs. The Ephs gained the lead late in the third period, however.

At 17:19 of the third, the Ephs pulled away with the lead, after junior Greg Zaffino fired one from the point after an initial missed shot. This marked Zaffino's first goal of the season, and proved to be the game winning goal in the contest.  Sophomore Colby Cretella and junior George Hunkele were awarded assists on the play.

Cretella sealed the deal for his squad by scoring an empty netter at 19:13 of the third period, bringing the game score to 3-1. Cretella was assisted on the play by classmate Joe Welch.

Wesleyan outshot Williams in the third period 12-6 bringing game totals to a balanced 26-26.

Wesleyan plays Bowdoin at home on Friday at 7:00 PM, while Williams next plays Manhattanville on the road next Friday at 7:00 PM.

Recap Courtesy of Williams Athletics