CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton's women's soccer team (4-5) dropped a hard-fought match on Sunday against No. 7 Williams (4-1), 4-0.

The Ephs opened the first half in fine fashion, pressuring the Spartans defense by taking four shots and forcing one save in the opening 17 minutes of play.

Williams grabbed its first lead of the game in the 18th minute when Audrey Thomas scored her team-high sixth goal of the season. Alison Magruder played Thomas a through ball near the edge of the box that forced Jessica Binkowski to come out from net. Thomas gathered the ball and chipped a shot just over Binkowski's reach to give the Ephs a one-goal advantage. 

In the 35th minute, Binkowski made a fine save to keep the Ephs lead at one. Natasha Albaneze took a shot that rattled off the post, and Zoe Trutner tried to knock in the rebound, but Binkowski was there to stop the play.

The away side continued to attack, and with ten minutes remaining in the first half, a Spartan defender fouled a Williams player outside the top of the box, giving them a free kick. Albaneze stepped up to the spot and delivered a strong effort that ricocheted off the near post, and Castleton was able to clear it from play.

After the break, the Ephs continued to maintain the attacking momentum, taking eleven shots and forcing Binkowski to make five saves in the first twenty minutes of the second half. 

In the 68th minute, Williams doubled its lead when Katie Wardlaw notched her second goal of the season. Evan Gancedo sent in a cross from the far side, finding an open Wardlaw who's one-timer flew into the back of the net to make it 2-0.

Hanna Kaeser extended the Ephs lead to three in the 88th minute when she dribbled towards the near post and powered a shot past Binkowski into the corner of the net.

Just one minute later, Williams scored again when Albaneze headed Natalie Weyerhaeuser's cross in to give the away squad a 4-0 advantage.

The Spartans looked lively and attained some attacking momentum towards the end of the match, but were unable to create any real scoring opportunities. Castleton were outshot on the afternoon by 23, putting only one shot on goal in the match. 

Binkowski, who dropped to 4-5 with the loss, played well in net for the Spartans, making nine saves in the match. Hannah Van Wetter recorded her first career victory for the Ephs, making one save in the shutout.

Castleton returns to action next weekend when they host a pair of conference matches against Thomas and Maine-Farmington. The Spartans square off against the Terriers on Saturday beginning at 4:30 pm, and then face the Beavers on Sunday at 2:30 pm.