Box
Score
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. - The Williams College men's soccer team
looked to have the NESCAC championship all but wrapped up in the
closing minutes of Sunday's title bout with Middlebury, but a late
Panther equalizer forced the Ephs to end it in overtime. The Ephs
created an opportunity int eh first overtime session that forced
the sixth-seeded Panthers into surrendering an own goal and giving
Williams the 2-1 OT victory. The title is the Ephs first NESCAC
title since 2006, and it comes with the NESCAC's automatic berth in
the NCAA tournament.
A two-pronged attack by Williams (14-2-1) forwards junior Gaston
Kelly and senior Pierre Meloty-Kapella generated the chaos in the
Panther (10-5-1) defense that resulted in the own-goal 6:25 into
overtime, giving second-seeded Williams its sixth NESCAC men's
soccer tournament title in the 10-year history of the event, with
four of those victories coming at the expense of Middlebury.
A serve from the left side by Kelly to the front of the goal was
taken by Meloty-Kapella whose volley at the net was met by the
middle of the cross bar. The ricochet floated high into the box and
a Middlebury defender's attempt to clear it with his head bounced
awkwardly, shooting back into the top corner of the net for the
Ephs' sudden victory goal.
That thwarted the comeback attempt of the Panthers, who trailed
1-0 for a majority of the game after Williams freshman defender
Matt Ratajczak finished off a corner-kick set piece in the 37th
minute of the contest for the game's opening tally. Senior forward
Peter Houston took the corner for the Ephs and bent the ball in
toward a host of traffic in front of the net. Eph junior defender
Joe Vella was able to get to it first and redirected it to
Ratajczak in front for an easy tap in the goal. The score marked
Matt Ratajczak's first collegiate score and it couldn't have come
at a bigger time.
The Ephs maintained their lead for nearly 50 minutes, using
stifling defensive pressure to blunt the Middlebury attack, while
holding the Panthers to 11 shots in the contest. However, the
Panthers patience paid off in the 86th minute when they
made good on the lone first rate opportunity the Eph defense had
allowed them to that point. After fielding a through pass just
outside the Williams box, Panther sophomore midfielder Robbie
Redmond turned and fired a low missile from 25 yards out that
buried itself in lower left inside panel of the net, dramatically
equalizing the game at 1-1 with four minutes remaining and
ultimately forcing the overtime.
Up until that point Williams had looked on the verge of padding
their lead at several points in the second half. After an initial
feeling out period following intermission, the Ephs began to assert
more and more pressure further into Panther territory. However, a
few Williams misfires and several key stops by Middlebury
goalkeeper Tim Cahill (4 saves) kept it a one goal lead.
The OT result was just the third time in NESCAC history that the
championship has been decided in extra time. Middlebury won the
first-ever NESCAC title with a four-overtime win over Williams in
2000, and the Ephs' title in the 2006 season was decided in
Williams favor following penalty kicks, also against Middlebury.
Middlebury had previously defeated Williams, 1-0, October 30 in
Middlebury, Vt. in the regular-season finale. That loss dropped
Williams from the top-seed in the NESCAC tournament, but the Ephs
managed to earn it back with their late game heroics against the
defending runner-ups from 2008.
This season's automatic spot in the NCAA tournament will mark
Williams 15th appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament in 17
seasons of eligibility. The pairings of the 59 NCAA tournament
teams will be announced later this evening with opening round games
set to begin Nov. 12.
Heading into NCAA tournament play, the Ephs hold a 5-0
nonconference mark for the season, with the conference itself
boasting a .830 winning percentage in nonconference play -- further
underlining the significance of claiming a NESCAC title.
Middlebury remains solidly in the running for an NCAA at-large
bid with as many as four NESCAC teams potentially positioned to a
earnspot in the tournament.
