Box
Score
MIDDLETOWN, CT – The William's men's soccer (1-0) started
the season right with a dramatic come from behind victory over
Little Three rival Wesleyan (0-1) this afternoon on a late goal by
Daniel Curbelo-Zeidman. The victory was made even sweeter because
it comes from an Eph squad, which lost eight starters from last
year's 14-1-2 team and over a veteran Cardinals team, which
returned 13 letter winners.
Wesleyan found a hole in the William's defense early, chalking up
the game's first goal with a strike from Keisuke Yamashita at 2:05.
Yet, the young Ephs refused to be rattled and struck back on a
corner kick from sophomore Sam Empson that Conor Smith converted at
19:56. The score was tied at one at the half.
Dominating possession and creating multiple scoring chances in the
final 20 minutes, the Cards seemed poised to battle their way back
and take a lead. However, Eph sophomore keeper Andrew Graham made
spectacular save after spectacular save to ensure that the Williams
defense would bend but not break. Three of the last five saves
Graham made were worthy of a highlight reel.
The frantic Cardinals attack left a crack in their defense, which
junior Eph forward Peter Gordon exploited with a through pass that
found a streaking Curbelo-Zeidman alone on goal and he tallied with
a shot to the lower left corner in the 87th minute to put the Ephs
on top 2-1. The goal by Curbelo-Zeidman was his first as a
collegian. "Wesleyan was really organized and compact on defense
and made scoring chances few and far between and made it difficult
for us to get openings," note Eph head coach Mike Russo.
The Cards recorded sixteen shots and six corner kicks to the Ephs'
fourteen shots and two corner kicks, but Graham's nine saves proved
to be the difference maker as the Cards were unable to even the
score.
Next up for the Ephs is a home match vs. Connecticut College on
September 15th at 2:00 pm.
