MEDFORD, MA—The Williams College Ephs (6-4-2, 2-4-2 NESCAC) fell 2-0 to the Tufts University Jumbos (7-3-3, 4-3-2 NESCAC) away from home.
Both teams came out of the gate hot, and the opening minutes of the contest were a back-and-forth, box-to-box, very attack-oriented affair with the EPhs having the upper hand and Sam Gibson finding space for the first two shot attempts. The Jumbos found their groove in the 9', when a well-threaded through ball and an equally well-defended cross led to a corner kick and a period of sustained pressure for Tufts, culminating in a stellar Ben Diffley reflex save at his near post, after which the Ephs were able to clear the ball away.
Williams wasn't able to maintain possession, though, and Tufts, following a turnover, were able to remount the attack very quickly and directly, catching the midfield off guard. A quick one-two passing move got the Jumbos into the final third, and Mikey Brady was able to latch on to a bouncing through ball to make it 1-0 in the 11'.
Straight from the kick off following the goal, the Ephs demonstrated their resolve, sending a dangerous-looking long ball into the opposing 18 that caused the keeper some problems and almost resulted in an immediate equalizer. Unfortunately, the goalie was able to corral the ball and the Jumbos maintained their lead.
Posession was pretty evenly split over the next twenty minutes, with the Ephs' most promsing attacking moves coming from the counter. The Ephs showed offensive sparks down the wing, through Mohamed Keussom, but the midfield battle ultimately resulted in a stalemate, and neither side looked threatening. The dynamic began to shift with about 15 minutes remaining in the half with the Ephs, beginning to out-hustle the Jumbos, were able to maintain consistent pressure, and keep the ball in Tufts' half. The Ephs' offense opened the game up somewhat, as the Jumbos took their turn trying to score from the break. Ben Diffley made another quality save in the 38' to keep the deficit at 1.
Diffley recorded a shot on goal with three minutes remaining, as his long ball into the box carried all the way towards the top left corner, where his Jumbo counterpart was able to catch it.
The remaining minutes passed without event, aside from a pretty magnificent Maradona turn by Andrew Coelho, and the Ephs went into the break a goal down.
The Jumbos opened the second half with another period of sustained pressure, but the Ephs were able to outlast and generate some attacks of their own. Amidst the back and forth, Diffley made another great save to his far post in the 70'.
Three minutes later, Andrew Coelho came close to equalizing, as he saw what was presumably an attempted cross careen off of the Jumbo's crossbar.
The Ephs briefly maintained the pressure, but that allowed Tufts to strike back on the break. The Jumbos found space on the right wing, and once again found Mikey Brady in the box, who was able to beat Diffley to the bottom left corner, bringing the Jumbos' advantage to 2-0.
The Ephs upped the ante, offensively, and both teams brought energy off the bench. The Jumbos pressed tirelessly, but the Ephs found ways to maintain possession and advance the ball down the field, creating a few good goal scoring opportunities.
Late on, the Ephs nearly got a goal in the 87', as Mohamed Keussom found Henry Kirkman---head and shoulders above the nearest defender---with a quality cross from the right wing. Kirkman's header went wide, though, and in any case the Tuft's goalie was able to stifle the danger.
The Ephs were able to avoid conceding an empty-net third goal with thirty seconds remaining, but were unable to get a goal of their own, and the game ended 2-0 to Tufts.
Ephs head coach Steffen Siebert noted his team's technical quality after the game, saying, "Very good game from the team on the ball. We were very good on the ball today which will give us lots of confidence for Wednesday when we host another great opponent on Cole."
The Ephs will take a one-game break from NESCAC action, hosting Western Connecticut State University, before a final conference home stand to finish out the regular season, starting with Trinity next Saturday.
