Box Score NEW LONDON, CONN.—Two weeks ago today, the Williams men's soccer team was ranked No. 3 in the NSCAA coaches poll and had outscored its opponents 9-1 to win its first three games. The Ephs' ball control in the offensive zone was impeccable; their defense, all-but-impenetrable.
After falling 2-1 to Connecticut College on Saturday afternoon, the Ephs (3-3-1, 2-2-0 NESCAC) might be wondering if their dream start was really only two weeks ago. Williams lost to the Camels (4-3-0, 2-2-0 NESCAC) for the first time since the 1992 ECAC tournament and is now mired in its longest winless streak since 2008, when the Ephs closed out their regular season with an 0-3-2 swoon and failed to qualify for NCAAs. "We've all started questioning ourselves, [wondering] 'Are we as good as we think we are?'" said Williams coach Mike Russo, who suggested that Tuesday's draw against RPI hurt his team's morale. "There's been a loss of confidence."
The Ephs certainly couldn't have gained confidence when, after a first half of soccer largely devoid of chances, they essentially gave away the game's first goal on a defensive miscue in the 53rd minute. When a Camel header into Eph territory fell harmlessly to feet of Geoff Danilack, the Eph defender turned and passed back to freshman keeper Bobby Schneiderman. The Eph keeper's first touch was careless, though, and right at charging Camel forward Marino Patrk, who blocked Schneiderman's emergency clearance attempt and tapped the ball into a wide-open net for his first goal of the season. "They were playing with confidence beforehand," said Russo of the breakdown. "But that goal just lifted them."
While the Camels' first goal was lucky, they deserved every bit of their second. A string of crisp passes eventually left freshman Ousmane Dia with room to work on the right side. With Luke Pierce guarding him closely, Dia slid a pass into the middle that met Pat Devlin in stride. Despite having to deal with Danilack hot on his tail, Devlin took a well-weighted touch forward before ripping a low shot that snuck past Schneiderman on the near side to make it 2-0 just past the hour mark.
With the clock working against them, the struggling Eph offense, which had gone more than six hours without a goal from the run of play, finally came to life and put together a late tally. For the second straight game, Zach Grady provided a clinical finish for the Ephs, this time chesting down a one-hop cross from JC Bahr-de Stefano before pummeling the ball past Connecticut netminder Austin DaCunha in the 86th minute. The goal was Grady's fifth of the season and lifted him into a tie with Middlebury's Adam Glaser and Tufts' Connor Brown for the NESCAC lead, but despite a late attacking flurry, it meant little to the offense-starved Ephs. "We need someone else to step up," said Russo on his side's scoring struggles.
The final result, coupled with Bates' 3-0 win over Trinity and Colby's defeat of Middlebury by the same count, leaves the last seven teams in the NESCAC standings separated by a one-game swing of three points. Connecticut and Williams head that bunch with six points apiece, and in turn sit just a single point behind Middlebury for fourth. Williams takes on the Panthers at home on Wednesday afternoon, a game that will serve as a chance for the Ephs to back up Russo's belief that their winless drought is merely temporary. "This league is very tough," said Russo. "We just have to try to pick up the pieces and move on. I'm still confident that we can finish strong."
