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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass – The Williams men's soccer team
(8-2-1) used a goal and an assist from senior forward Mike Darling
to defeat Springfield 2-1, Wednesday at Cole Field. The victory
marks the end of the Ephs nonconference regular season schedule,
and their third straight victory, as they enter the pivotal final
three conference games before the NESCAC tournament.
The Ephs played the first half as well as they have all season;
netting the games first goal only seven minutes in when Darling
took a long ball, used some fancy footwork to create space, and
fired a vertical strike from point blank range that caught the top
of the net.
The Ephs didn't let up, and continued to play efficient
speedy soccer. Seemingly, winning every contested ball, as their
defense clogged the Springfield passing lanes, and their offense
easily advanced with lighting quick one touches. The Pride was
forced to make concessions to the energized Ephs, allowing them a
season high (for one half) in corners (11 in the first half, and 14
total) and shots (16 in the first half, and 26 total).
It was Darling again who sprung the Eph offense. This time in the
24th minute, as his corner kick found the head of classmate Nathan
Elwood who guided it past the Pride Keeper and into the net.
Darling would continue to cause fits for Springfield all game, as
he out-hustled and out-manned the smaller Pride defenders, while at
the same time employing a wide range of creative ball-handling
skills that often left them chasing shadows.
"I couldn't be happier for Mike." Remarked a visibly pleased Eph
Coach Mike Russo, "Today we saw the culmination of his four years
here, we needed someone to step up, and he did – in a very
big way."
Despite Darling's breakout game, Springfield refused to say die.
Netting a picturesque goal only five minutes into the second half,
when senior midfielder Paul Lepak redirected fellow classmate and
midfielder Jay Gaglis' through ball to the lower right hand corner
of the goal.
The next ten minutes saw a fired-up Pride team looking enough like
the Ephs of the first half that one could swear the two teams had
switched jerseys during the break. However, the Ephs eventually
responded and pushed back against the Pride until they had regained
much of their first half momentum.
But Springfield (5-7-1) continued to play inspired soccer, and
weathered Williams's resurgence, denying them an insurance goal.
The game continued relatively balanced until the final whistle.
"I'm very pleased with the way we played today, especially our
focus" remarked Russo, "A lot of teams, when they have an up-coming
schedule like we do, tend to look past this game, but we
didn't and got the win."
The up-coming schedule Russo was referring to is their three
looming NESCAC games, specifically Middlebury (8-1) and Amherst
(9-0), the results of which will play a major role in the Ephs
post-season fate.
Middlebury's up first, as the Ephs travel to the Champlain Valley
Saturday to try to hand the Panthers their second loss of the
season. The game is set to begin at 1:30 PM.
