Box Score WILLIAMSTOWN, MA—No literal lightning found its way to Cole Field on Sunday afternoon. The figurative kind struck the same spot twice.
One day after a summer storm postponed Williams men's soccer's season opener against Colby, Zach Grady and Chris Conder provided a pair of bolts from the blue, with the seniors' top-class finishes providing all the offense the Ephs needed for 2-0 season opening win over Colby (1-1-0, 0-1-0 NESCAC). The victory was a thorough one for the Ephs, who overcame a slow start and a well-organized Mules' squad to win their fifth straight opening match.
Grady's decisive tally came less than four minutes into the second half. After the registering the Ephs' only shot on goal in the first half, an awkward half-volley from point-blank range that Colby keeper Peter Quayle smothered, Grady received a pass on his right foot from Michael Madding. Without hesitation, he cut towards the middle of the field and unleashed a blistering 25-yard strike into the upper-left corner of netting that Quayle was powerless to stop.
The goal was Grady's second in as many days, though his tally in yesterday's aborted contest did not carry over to today's restart and will not count towards his season stats. The phantom goal provided Grady with a bit of extra motivation. "I told myself before the game I had to score," said Grady.
Grady also missed scoring by inches on a curling drive towards the back post in the first half on another shot from well outside the 18-yard box. "He's our best 'ball striker,'" said Williams coach Mike Russo of Grady. "He's more relaxed and confident this year."
Conder doubled the Ephs' advantage in the game's 73rd minute, off a less spectacular but similarly precise finish. After the Ephs earned a free kick from the center of the field mere feet from where Grady scored earlier, Conder whipped a left-footed field straight into the Mule wall. But the ball bounced fortuitously back to Conder, who promptly deposited it into the side netting for the third goal of his collegiate career. Like Grady's goal, Conder's strike came without discernible buildup, though the Ephs did outshoot the Mules 10-3 in the second half.
While Williams controlled play in the second half, it was the Mules who came out as the stronger side and registered the game's first serious chance on a quick counter in the 11th minute. After a Williams giveaway in their attacking third, Colby's Matt Giron sent a knifing through ball over midfield that left seniors Keith Chernin and Charlie Dupree with just a single Eph defender to beat. Chernin's lead pass for Dupree was accurate and Dupree's shot low and on goal, but Eph goalie Christian Alcorn knocked the shot away with a dive to his right, then did the same less than half a minute later to cleanly corral out a dangerous follow-up attempt from Mule captain Andrew Woonton.
Alcorn, who backed up Peter Morrell last season, came well off his line to snuff out multiple chances while in the first half looking more comfortable than most of his teammates. "We weren't quite as sharp as we wanted to be," said Russo of the half. Despite lapses and mistakes from his side on both sides of the ball, Russo elected to start the second half with the same lineup that began the game, a vote of confidence the Ephs rewarded in spades. "They hadn't had a good first half, and that was OK," said Russo. "In the second half we came out and played an up-tempo game."
With the win, the Ephs won their sixth straight game against Colby and improved to 16-0-1 all-time against the Mules, who suffered their first loss under the leadership of first-year coach Ewan Seabrook. "They were tough," said Russo. "I was impressed with their mentality."
Both sides will now renew their 2014 campaigns with non-conference road games in the coming week. Colby returns to Maine to face Husson on Wednesday evening, while the Ephs will travel southeast to take on Westfield State on Tuesday in a 4 p.m. tilt.
