Salem, Va. –– In the NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four matchup between Williams College (9-1-11) and the Mary Washington Eagles (13-4-4), the Ephs emerged victorious, 1-0, thanks to a late header from Nick Boardman, sending the Ephs to the NCAA Championship game Saturday at 12:00 PM.
This is the first time these two teams have met, and en route to the final four, Mary Washington eliminated Amherst in the first game on PKs and downed Bowdoin in the regional final 3-2.
The Ephs were by far the stronger side during the first half, creating a fair share of opportunities with quick play down the left side and counterattacks.
One of the closer opportunities came in the 18th minute when Keel Brissett flicked the ball past an Eagle defender into the path of a sprinting Tate Michelson before the ball was parried away quickly by Mary Washington keeper Griffin Hemmendinger.
In the 30th minute, the Ephs were inches away from going up: Nathan Song floated a free kick into the box, which went right through the keeper's hands, falling for Nick Boardman, whose acrobatic volley rose just above the open net.
Credit to the Eagles, who looked dangerous throughout the half but never got past the Ephs' backline. Their best attacking moment came when Carter Berg got by two Eph defenders before unleashing a shot that sailed inches from the bottom left corner of Ben Diffley's goal post. Close, but no cigar for the Eagles.
The Ephs, once again, picked up the tempo in the 52nd minute, when Song rolled a pass across from the right side into the feet of Henry Kirkman, who took a touch before shooting just wide of the Mary Washington net.
In the 80th minute, the Ephs finally got their goal. Eamon Gara Grady made his way to the left side of the pitch before in-swinging a perfect cross to Nick Boardman, who powered his header past the motionless keeper. The Ephs went up 1-0.
With only ten minutes left, the Ephs quickly went defensive and parked every player in front of the ball to ensure their spot in the Championship game. And it worked. On Saturday, the Ephs will face the University of Chicago at noon for the NCAA DIII championship. Saturday will be the Ephs first appearance in the NCAA title since 1995 when they won the championship on their home field - Cole Field.
After the match, Head Coach Steffen Siebert commented, "Fantastic game of college soccer tonight! I thought the boys left it all out on the field, and were able to punch their ticket to the National final!"
