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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass - The Williams College men's soccer team used
a relentless attack to get past Springfield 5-0 Wednesday at Cole
Field. The win improves the Ephs, who came in ranked #3 in New
England by NSCAA, to 9-1-1 (4-1-1 NESCAC) and gives them a 5-0 mark
in nonconference games on the season. With the loss Springfield
falls to 4-8-1.
In many ways the Ephs play against Springfield mirrored their
play against Trinity on Saturday, albeit with one crucial
difference: Williams finished. Where open nets were missed in
Saturday's disappointing goal-less defeat to the Bantams, today the
Ephs found their stroke and put the ball into the net early and
often.
"We have been working on keeping our composure in goal scoring
opportunities, and while we weren't perfect today we were certainly
much better." remarked Eph Coach Mike Russo, "It was an excellent
way to bounce back, and we will definitely take it."
The Ephs bombarded the net throughout, recording a 36 to 6
advantage in shots while earning a solid 7 to 2 edge in corner
kicks. The lopsided decision could have been far worse if it
weren't for the outstanding play of Pride netminder Chris Walton,
who routinely snuffed out what looked like sure Williams scores -
including a late Eph penalty kick - en route to amassing an
impressive 17 saves in the loss.
Colin Smith would lead the way for the Ephs with a pair of
scores to open the game, and Pierre Meloty-Kapella would add a goal
and assist to pace the offense.
It took the Ephs just 3:30 to erase the memories of Saturday's
scoreless performance, when Smith knocked home his first score off
of a perfect cross from Meloty-Kapella to give the Ephs a 1-0 lead.
Smith would strike again just under ten minutes later when the
senior defender found himself at the right place at the right time
following a Williams corner kick and only had to tap the ball in
from two feet out.
The first half completely belonged to Williams as the only thing
that appeared to be able to slow the Eph offense down was the refs
whistle and the offside call. The Ephs recorded a season high
11 offside penalties in the match, including 7 in the first half
alone, to limit their potential productivity.
However, the Ephs would make it 3-0 before the intermission;
this time when Meloty-Kapella was able to get behind the defense
only to be tackled in the box by the Springfield goal keeper thus
earning the first of two Williams penalty kicks. Meloty-Kapella's
low skipping shot to the left corner finalized the first half
scoring in the 31st minute.
Springfield showed some spirited play in the 2nd
half, but the size, speed, and strength advantage of the Ephs was
apparent throughout.
In the 53rd minute the Ephs broke through once again,
this time when Charles Romero escorted the ball through a pair of
Springfield defenders down to the Pride endline before dumping it
to the foot of a waiting Gaston Kelly who promptly punched it in,
giving the Ephs the 4-0 lead.
Even after Coach Russo sent in relief players the Ephs were
still able to keep the pressure on Springfield until eventually
Daniel Morrisroe salvaged the ball out of a scrum in the Pride box
and knocked it home to finish the scoring at 5-0.
The Ephs only have 3 more games left in the regular season, all
of which are NESCAC league games. The first comes Saturday, October
17th, when Williams travels to Bowdoin. That game is
scheduled for a 12:00 PM kickoff.
