MIDDLETOWN, CT -- The Williams College men's
soccer team opened their season with a thrilling 2-1 overtime
victory over NESCAC rival Wesleyan Saturday afternoon.
The effort was a good start to the season for the Ephs (1-0-0),
who look to build on last years successful season that ended in the
Final 4 of the NCAA tournament.
After an aggressive match that featured Wesleyan outshooting
Williams 20-16, and a red card in the second overtime period, Kiel
Bonhomme scored the winning goal for the Ephs off a corner from
Matt
Ratajczak with just 6 seconds left in the second overtime.
The Ephs jumped out to a quick lead in the 16th
minute of the first half when forward Gaston Kelly scored
with his left foot off a pass from Charlie Romero. Wesleyan came
out aggressive and had plenty of opportunities in the first half.
However, despite outshooting the Ephs 11 to 3, they were unable to
capitalize.
|
| Kiel Bonhomme
'11 |
The second half was a stalemate with both teams unable to take
advantage of opportunities until Wesleyan came back with an
equalizer in the 79th minute. Austin Woolridge drilled a
pass from Zach Dixon into the upper right corner of the net sending
the game into overtime.
While the Ephs were outshot overall by Wesleyan, they did prove
to be the more aggressive team in the two overtime periods
outshooting the Cardinals 9 to 1.
In the end, Williams is happy to start their season with a
win. "We're delighted to have a win against a tough opponent. We'll
take this one and move on," remarked head coach Mike Russo.
The Ephs will look to build on the momentum of this victory as
they travel to New Paltz State on September 15th for
their first non-conference game of the season.
