WELLESLEY, MASS –– A seemingly perfect start for the Ephs, Henry Osborn rocketed a half-volley that flew straight into the top right corner. For a while, it was looking like the Ephs would make it 7 consecutive wins vs. Babson until the home team's target man Ben Williams equalized after some nifty one-two work with midfielder Samuel Kalishman.
The Ephs scored early in the match after Cole Morriello's blocked cross fell nicely to Henry Osborn, who made no mistake in dispatching his strike past Babson keeper Walker White.
Despite the early goal, the Beavers stuck to their game plan, frequently infiltrating the Ephs' midfield half and racking up fouls –– by the 20th minute, the Ephs had committed 7 fouls and earned 2 yellow cards. Still, center back Eamon Gara Grady registered two blocks (13' and 18') to prevent goal-scoring opportunities, rallying the defense to keep a first-half clean sheet.
A couple of minutes later, Gara Grady found himself on the other end of the field, as his 25th-minute header just narrowly missed the goal frame.
In the 32nd minute, senior and returning top goal-scorer Nathan Song danced through a host of Babson defenders before his effort was just parried out of bounds.
Just 11 minutes later, Dylan Kelemen was unlucky not to have scored after his point-blank header was saved, again by Walker White.
Heading into the half, the Ephs had 6 shots and 1 save to the Beaver's 8 shots and 2 saves.
After the break, Brady Foehl registered the Eph's only on-target shot of the half in the 46th minute, a well-hit effort that the keeper blocked.
From then on, the Beavers registered 8 shots, forcing 3 saves from Williams stopper Ben Diffley. However, the Ephs' strong defense wasn't enough, as Ben Williams leveled the score in the 82nd minute, placing his effort low and to the right from 6 yards out.
Eph head oach Steffen Siebert remarked after the game, "Great team performance today from everyone against a very good Babson side. Now all focus is on starting NESCAC play next weekend with a home game against Bates."
The Ephs' 1-1 draw puts them at 1-0-2 on the season. Still undefeated, they'll hope to build on their momentum for their NESCAC home opener vs. Bates at 1:00 PM Saturday on Cole Field.
On Sunday at 2:00 PM on Cole Field the Ephs will host Tufts.
