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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass – On a day where the weather was almost
as much of a factor as the opponent, the Williams College
men's soccer team fell to Little-Three archrival Amherst 1-0
in the regular season finale. The loss snaps the Ephs (9-4-1)
recent dominance over the Lord Jeffs (13-1). Williams entered the
game having won the last four meetings between the two teams.
The weather dictated play throughout, limiting precision play and
turning the game into a slug-fest as both teams struggled to gain
momentum early. The Ephs were able to respond first however, as
they slowly but surely gained waterlogged chunks of territory and
possession and forced play into the Amherst half.
The offense, aided by a smothering defense, generated several near
misses; most notably when sophomore Alex Johnson's laser
blast from twenty yards was rejected by the crossbar. Despite their
chances, the Ephs failed to capitalize on their control.
Play eventually evened out, as the Lord Jeffs became acclimated to
the inclimate whether, and the game settled into a battle for the
midfield. However, the thick rain proved a heavy deterrent to
offensive production as players constantly were sent slipping and
sliding on potential opportunities.
The early goings of the second-half saw more of the same as the
two teams struggled for control of the midfield; however, this time
it was Amherst who took control. Looking like the #1 team in the
NESCAC, they drove the Ephs out of the midfield and onto the
defensive third. With each minute the Lord Jeffs intensity rose and
their strangle-hold on the Eph defense seemed to tighten. Any
offense that the Ephs managed to create was either snuffed out by
the pressure tactics of the Lord Jeffs defenders or simply
sputtered because of fouls or errant passes.
Aided by the vocal encouragements of their animated bench, the
Lord Jeffs were finally able to convert their sustained offensive
pressure into a goal, when sophomore midfield Mark Crane's
cross found ace junior forward Nick Lynch who sidestepped a
defender and fired a low line drive to the near post that Eph
keeper Andrew Graham couldn't reach at the 63 minute
mark.
The Ephs responded to the situation and gradually fought their way
back into it in the final fifteen minutes; however, it was too
little to late as the Lord Jeff defense held tough and secured the
victory.
“We played shaky in the second half, and I felt this was one
that we could have won,” remarked Eph coach Mike Russo,
“But Amherst is a great team and I take my hat off to them.
It's disappointing to lose but we just need to pick up the
pieces and regroup for tomorrow.”
Despite the loss, the Ephs earned a share of the Little-Three
title and were able to secure a berth in the NESCAC tournament with
the #3 seed overall.
The tournament opens tomorrow with the Ephs playing at home
against Trinity, at 12:30. The game will be available on TEAMLINE
(a pay to listen service) , please click on the TEAMLINE logo on
the bottom of the front page of Williams Athletics to listen on
your computer. To listen on your telephone call 1-800-846-4700.
