Box Score SOMERVILLE, MA—Deep in the midst of a topsy-turvy season that at one point saw the Williams men's soccer team go from being ranked third in the nation to the bottom half of the NESCAC standings in just two weeks, the Ephs suddenly found themselves with an unexpected chance. Amherst's loss to Wesleyan early Saturday meant that, the Ephs, who entered the day 5-2-0 in conference play, would finish first in the conference if they won their final three games.
Faced with an opportunity to move up in the NESCAC standings the Ephs fell 1-0 to Tufts at Kraft Field on Saturday afternoon. The win meant as much to the Jumbos (8-1-3, 6-0-2 NESCAC) as it would have meant to the Ephs (7-5-1, 5-3-0 NESCAC). Victories in their final two matches, against Hamilton and Bowdoin, will give Tufts their first-ever first place finish in the NESCAC standings since the league adopted its current championship format in 2000.
After a slack opening to the second half, the Jumbos found their winner from the penalty spot in the 66th minute. Gus Santos earned the opportunity when he absorbed a high hip tackle from Eph fullback Tobias Muellers near the edge of the 18-yard-box, then finished it off himself by burying his spot kick into the right corner, lightyears away from Christian Alcorn's wrong-way dive.
It was an unfair result for Alcorn, who stopped five shots and singlehandedly kept the match scoreless in the first half. The sophomore goalie, making his fourth straight start following a brief midseason benching, dove to his left in the 13th minute to just get his fingertips on a goal-bound header by Tufts' Peter Lee-Kramer, then deftly tipped Santos' one-timer from inside the box over the crossbar 20 minutes later. Lee-Kramer also hit the crossbar with a header halfway through the period.
The Ephs' offense, which appeared to be reviving from its monthlong slumber following a pair of two-goal performances last weekend, did little to test the Jumbos defense. Goaltender Scott Greenwood needed to make only one save, on Malcolm Singleton's sharp-angle effort late in the first half.
Williams had one real chance to tie the match, with six minutes remaining. Some clumsy marking from the Jumbos helped Malcolm Moutenot wriggle free in the box to receive a corner from Zach Grady. Though Moutenot's one-time shot spun to the right of the goal, Luke Pierce was on the spot and got a clean shot away from around the six-yard area—but the senior launched his effort high over the bar.
Now, instead of giving themselves a chance to rise above the fray, the Ephs find themselves even more in the thick of it than before. On the one hand, the Ephs are guaranteed a finish no lower than sixth in the conference and can guarantee themselves a home playoff game with wins in their final matches, road contests against Bates and Hamilton.
On the other hand, they must get help to finish any higher than fourth in the conference. And those away contests will not be easy, as the Ephs have now dropped four straight away from Cole Field.
The Ephs will attempt to reverse that trend next Saturday, when they travel to Maine to take on the Bates Bobcats. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
