Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—Mike Russo will coach at least one more game at Cole Field.
Although his Williams men's soccer team turned in an underwhelming performance at Love Field on Wednesday afternoon, Zach Grady's late goal propelled the Ephs (8-5-2, 6-3-1 NESCAC) to a 1-0 win over the Continentals. With the win, the Ephs moved past idle Middlebury and finished third in the conference with 19 points; they will face Bowdoin, which clinched the 6th seed when Wesleyan defeated Connecticut College, on Saturday at noon in the first round of the conference playoffs.
Had the Ephs drawn or lost to Hamilton, they would have been faced with the double-whammy of a six-game road winless streak and a road quarterfinal matchup against the Cardinals. Instead, they will spend the weekend in Williamstown, where they are 6-1-1 this season, with the last of those wins a 2-0 defeat of the Polar Bears on October 12.
Grady scored his ninth goal of the season near the end of that game; today, he picked up his NESCAC-leading 10th, once again finding the back of the net in a game's waning minutes. The senior received a long pass on the left side from Chris Seitz, turned, and passed to Geoff Danilack at the edge of the 18-yard-box. Though Danilack had room to turn and make his own run at goal, he instead sent a one-touch pass back to Grady, who took one touch into the box and knocked a shot over Hamilton's sliding Harris Pollack to put the Ephs on top.
The goal was the fourth game-winner of the year for Grady, who became the first Eph to notch double-digit goals in a season since Charlie Romero, who played briefly played professionally with the third-tier Charleston Battery after graduation, netted 12 in 2009.
Grady has shown an uncanny knack for finding the back of the net at the right moment. Overall, six of his 10 goals have either tied a game or put the Ephs ahead, and six of his 10 have been scored in the final 15 minutes of a match. More importantly for Williams, the Ephs are 7-1-1 in games in which Grady has scored.
Yet the Ephs might not have been in a position to win had it not been for the performance of Christian Alcorn in goal. The sophomore was tested twice around the 70th minute mark, first when Dan Kraynak worked his way in from the left sideline and fired a sharp angle shot that Alcorn parried into a scrum in front of goal. Moments later, the Ephs were whistled for a hand ball, giving Hamilton a prime chance to take the lead. But Alcorn dove to his left and easily parried Kraynak's on-the-ground penalty, keeping the game scoreless and giving the Ephs a burst of life that ultimately led to Grady's goal just under 10 minutes later. Overall, Alcorn made four saves to improve to 7-3-1 on the year and pick up his fourth shutout.
In retrospect, perhaps the brush with disaster was a necessary one for the Ephs after a thoroughly lethargic first half. While Williams had the better of the possession between the two teams, Hamilton's conservative defending and the Ephs' own miscues kept the score frozen at zero. Williams' best chance came in the latter part of the half, when Tom Young won a 50-50 ball on the left side to create a 4-on-2 rush up the field. But Young's pass into the middle slid behind all three runners into the box, leaving the Ephs with a squandered opportunity.
Indeed, the Ephs have squandered opportunities aplenty this season, at one point going more than five hours without a goal from the run of play. Despite the brownout, the Ephs still would have finished first had they won their last three matches, but instead finished 1-1-1.
Now, though, none of that matters. A new opportunity faces the Ephs and Russo, coaching his 36th and final season, a chance to make it through to the NESCAC semifinals and earn a potential rematch with Amherst. First, though, Bowdoin awaits.
2014 NESCAC MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, November 1 at Higher Seeds
Quarterfinal Games
No. 8 Connecticut College at No. 1 Tufts – 12:00 p.m.
No. 7 Colby at No. 2 Amherst – 12:00 p.m.
* * * No. 6 Bowdoin at No. 3 Williams – 12:00 p.m. * * *
No. 5 Wesleyan at No. 4 Middlebury – 12:00 p.m.
* * * Due to the Eph women's soccer team also hosting a first round
NESCAC Tournament game this game time may be altered. Please check for
updates at ephsports.williams.edu/landing/index, where schedule updates will be
posted as soon as they are confirmed.
Saturday, November 8 at Highest Remaining Seed
Semifinal Games - 11:00 a.m. | 1:30 p.m.
Highest Remaining Seed vs. Lowest Remaining Seed
Remaining Quarterfinal Winners
Sunday, November 9
Finals
Semifinal Winners – 12:00 p.m.
