WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — For the fourth time in the last five years, the Williams College men's soccer team secured a top-four seed in the NESCAC Tournament, as the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Ephs will host seventh-seeded Wesleyan Saturday at 12:30 p.m. during the quarterfinal round on Cole Field.
"I am proud of the team to have earned a home playoff game with its performances all year," said sixth-year head coach
Steffen Siebert. "We are looking forward to hosting a great Wesleyan team, which we tied in a great game during the regular season."
The Ephs (10-2-2, 6-2-2 NESCAC) reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament during three of the last four seasons, including a run all the way to the national championship game in 2022.
During the 2026 regular season, Williams outlasted No. 1 Middlebury, 2-1, on Oct. 27, handing the Panthers a loss for the first time this season and earning its first victory in the rivalry since Oct. 25, 2022. Additionally, the Ephs defended their home field with a 2-1 triumph against visiting and then-No. 14-ranked Connecticut College on Oct. 3, earning a victory against the Camels for the first time since Sept. 28, 2013. On Sept. 26, first-year
Nick Appleton played the role of hero during a 1-0 victory over Amherst, burying the game-winning goal during the 90th minute in front of a jam-packed crowd at Cole Field.
Juniors
Alex Bethencourt (3 goals, 7 assists) and
Lorcan Mitchell (6 goals), along with sophomore
JJ Ruehlemann (4 goals, 4 assists), have led the charge for the Ephs this season. Mitchell and Ruehlemann have combined for seven game-winning goals. Junior goalkeeper
Kai Darrell has gone 10-2-2 in net with a 0.96 goals-against average, while earning individual shutouts during 1-0 triumphs against Gordon and Amherst on Sept. 15 and 26, respectively.
The Ephs and Cardinals (7-4-4, 3-4-3 NESCAC) battled to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 17 in Middletown, Connecticut. Bethencourt found the back of the net during the 24th minute, and then Felipe Una generated the equalizer with 16:24 remaining in the second half. The two teams met during the quarterfinals of the 2024 conference tournament, as senior
Andrew Coelho buried the game-winner in double overtime during a 2-1 Ephs' win.
Wesleyan has been led this season by Yousuf Saeed (7 goals, 2 assists) and Ford Cash (5 goals, 3 assists). The Cardinals defeated then-No. 1 Tufts, 2-0, on Sept. 9, and then earned a 1-1 tie against then-No. 1 Middlebury on Oct. 13.
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