Ephs Battle to a 1-1 Draw Against Connecticut College

Williamstown Mass. – There was no shortage of action as the Williams College Ephs (5-2-2 NESCAC; 9-2-3) hosted the Connecticut College Camels (NESCAC 3-1-5; 8-1-5). The Ephs controlled most of the game, and victory seemed imminent early when, in the 9th minute of play, junior Evan Vasquez played an excellent ball to junior Mohamed Keussom who hit a shot that, while saved, was eventually buried by sophomore Jeff Stauffer.  Williams would continue to play well after their goal, missing the net by inches on multiple occasions. The Camels wouldn't give up, however, and found an equalizer late, tying the game 1-1, which is how it would end. Despite this, Williams continues to be a force to be reckoned with as the tie this afternoon stretches their unbeaten streak to 11 games. 

The end-to-end action was immediate. It began in the 8th minute, when Eph senior goalkeeper Ben Diffley snatched the ball off an errant touch from a Connecticut College attacker.  Diffley distributed the ball well and got the ball into the Camels' half, which, only a minute later, proved decisive. 

In the 9th minute, Evan Vasquez got the ball in the attacking third and carried it for just the right amount of time to force the Connecticut College line to commit to blocking his advance. As they did, they left a passing lane open into a run by Mohamed Keussom that Vasquez took every advantage of by laying the ball off to him. Keussom nailed a powerful shot on target that Camel goalkeeper Peter Silvester stopped, but not without spilling the ball. Jeff Stauffer recognized the opportunity to pounce and took a clean shot of the coughed-up ball, sending it crashing into inner side netting giving Williams the 1-0 lead.  

Diffley would prove crucial again in the 18th minute when he made an excellent save to stop Camel forward Gavin Mpiana's shot from a dangerous left-sided cross. 

In the 29th minute. Sophomore Kellan Grace was at the helm of a free kick and nearly curled the set piece into the top right corner, but it flew over the crossbar for a Connecticut College goal kick. 



Besides another great save by Diffley in the 41st minute, there wasn't much action for the remainder of the second half, which ended 1-0 in favor of Williams. 

The Ephs nearly doubled their lead at the start of the second half in the 48th minute when set-piece talisman Kellan Grace took an excellent corner kick that found the head of first year Ben Brown, who beat his marker, but nodded the ball just over the bar. 

Williams showed excellent defensive effort in this match, making it difficult for the Camels to exploit transition opportunities. In the 53rd minute, defenders sophomore Atticus Ross and senior Felipe Gutierrez worked in tandem to shut down Camel forward Matt Scoffone, who started the play with the ball at his feet in space and ended it with the two center backs surrounding him. He attempted a shot but it was blocked by Ross. 

Sophomore Andrew Coelho also contributed to the strong defense in the 65th minute when, after losing the ball, he didn't give up and chased the Camel attacker back about halfway down the field before picking his pocket,  clearing the ball out of harm's way, and celebrating the defensive play with his teammates on the bench. This was a special moment for Coelho, who was playing in his first game of the season after he endured an injury in preseason training. You could tell how good he felt being back on the pitch by how much effort he put in up and down the field. This moment was only one of many valuable contributions Coelho made on the day. 

In the 69th minute, with Williams gaining momentum,  Ben Brown decided to have one from deep and ripped a shot from about 30 yards out that forced a diving save from Camel goalkeeper Silvester to keep Connecticut College from being down 2. 

In the 74th minute, a fortunate midfield long ball into the box bounced around and found the feet of Connecticut College defender Sam Boehm, who hit a quick shot on goal that Diffley was able to save. The rebound bounced right back to him, and he did well to move the ball into the right channel, create a little bit of space, and roof a second shot into top netting, equalizing the game for the Camels.  

The Ephs didn't let the goal get them down, and if anything, it made them play harder. In the 82nd minute, Andrew Coelho engaged in some good combination play off a corner and found first year Alex Bethencourt with space at the top of the box. Bethencourt hit a good shot, but Camel goalkeeper Silvester was in good position and saved it. 

In the 86th minute, Williams thought they had the winner when sophomore Spencer Mix received the ball in a transition moment and carried it forward into space. Mix made it look like he was looking for a pass and caught the Camel defense by surprise when he hit a far-out shot with pace that had Silvester completely beat but, unfortunately for the Ephs, hit the post. 

Both sides would fight hard to try and find a winner, but neither would succeed, and the game ended 1-1. 

Eph head coach Steffen Siebert commented on the draw: "Great game from both teams today. Very happy to see how many chances we were able to create today, as well as our performance off the ball. Time to recover and get ready for our last regular season game." 

Williams will play their last game of the regular season on Tuesday, October 29th, away at Middlebury.