Danbury, Conn – After a tense, defensive 75 minutes, it would be sophomore
Griffin Labonski who would break the gridlock after he hammered a shot from the top of the box off first year
Lorcan Mitchell's chest pass to tie the game 1-1 for the Williams College Ephs (4-2-1) against the Western Connecticut State Wolves (4-2-2). Despite the Ephs generating a majority of the dangerous chances in the match, tough Wolf defense and a bit of bad luck saw the Ephs limited to only one goal.
The action started, one shot a piece, in the 12th minute of play. First, it was Wolves forward Maximus Vigo who hit a half-volley that bounced the ball on the left side of the box toward the goal. It was comfortable save for senior goalkeeper
Ben Diffley, who recognized that the break was on. Diffley passed the ball to first year
Chase Caires, who hit a long ball to senior
Dylan Kelemen. The ball was hit with pace, and Kelemen did well to run onto it and get a shot off, but it went wide and hit side-netting.
In the 22 minute, Wolf Midfielder Kadin Talho exposed a little bit of space on the left side of the field and, with 1-2 pass combination play, got the ball into the left channel of the box. Talho chipped the ball across the face of the goal, and Wolf attacker Maximus Vigo came in running hard and headed it home to give West Connecticut State the 1-0 advantage over Williams.
In the 35th minute, junior Mohamed Keussom, who was dynamic on the wing and hit clever crosses the whole game, kicked a ball from the right side of the box that fell to Lorcan Mitchell, who was on the left side. Lorcan hit the ball back into the danger zone, and it bounced to sophomore Beck Walthers, who spun and got a touch on it, hitting it toward goal. Western Connecticut goalkeeper Zachary Benson got big and was in the right position to stop Beck's attempt and smother the ball on the ground.
The first half ended 1-0 Western Connecticut State.
The Wolves put the pressure on early in the second half. In the 46th minute, Western Connecticut found themselves on a breakaway. They got the ball to Wolves midfielder Nikolas Santana, who moved the ball to the top of the box and smashed a shot that, thankfully for Williams, sailed over the bar.
In the 55th minute, the Wolves were on the break again when Midfeidler Kadin Talho picked up the ball off a rebounded Eph freekick. Williams would have been in trouble if it weren't for junior Sam Gibson, who tracked Talho back and muscled him off the ball. The ball fell to another Western Connecticut attacker, but Gibson followed the play and kicked the ball out to end the dangerous Wolf attack.
In the 64th minute, The Ephs pushed back when first year Alex Bethencourt chipped the Wolf defense to nearly send Lorcan Mitchell through if it hadn't been for a well-timed slide tackle from a Western Connecticut defender. After Bethencourts's chance, momentum would shift in favor of the Ephs.
In the 75th minute, that momentum finally resulted in a goal. The chance started with a Mohamed Keussom long ball from midfield that was chest passed, first time, by Lorcan Mitchell to the feet of attacking centerback Griffin Labonski. Labonski took a touch and banged the ball into the back of the net, equalizing the game for the Ephs.
After the tying the goal, Williams took near control of the game, and it seemed like they where going to win. In the 78th minute, sophomore Kellan Grace sent Mohamed Keussom into a near one-on-one, but Wolf goalkeeper Zachary Benson dove and grabbed the ball off Keussom's feet.
The pressure continued in the 84th minute when a deflected senior Tate Michelson shot fell to Kellan Grace, who chested it down and moved the ball forward into the box. Beating his defender on the left side, he smashed a shot that beat Wolf goalkeeper Zachary Benson but missed the back post by inches, resulting in a Wolf Goal kick.
The Ephs would continue to apply pressure, but they would be unable to break through a tough Western Connecticut defense, and the game would end 1-1.
Williams head Coach Steffen Siebert commented on the draw:
"Fantastic performance from the team, and sometimes you just have one of those games where the ball does not want to go in. Great defensive performance by West Conn. We are going home with a 4 point weekend and gear up for another double header weekend next week."
The Ephs will play next at Colby College on Saturday, September 28th, at 2:30 PM.
