Men’s soccer saw their first overtime action this past Saturday against the Williams Ephs, who are ranked 25th in the nation. The game provided all the close calls and entertainment that could be expected from the Little Three rivals, two of the NESCAC’s premier programs. Year in and year out Wesleyan and Williams have finished near the top of the league, and if this game was any indication, this year is unlikely to upset that trend. After both regulation and two sudden-death overtime periods were exhausted over the course of 120 minutes, the contest concluded as it began with a score of 0-0. This was the first time since 1941 that Wesleyan and Williams have played to scoreless draw, a mark that stretches back 75 games and 71 years.
The home team controlled the first half, as Williams ratcheted off seven shots to Wesleyan’s three. Wesleyan took the higher quality shots though, as two of theirs were on goal as opposed to just one for Williams. Both defenses played well, and it was unsurprising that the score went into half time in a draw despite the control that Williams had exerted.
The second half proved a markedly different story. Williams committed 11 fouls on the half compared to Wesleyan’s six. Judging by the scoreboard, the Ephs ended up the less disciplined team, as they committed 24 penalties on the day while only receiving eight from the Cardinals. Williams’ loss of composure was punctuated by seven Cardinal shots in the second half. This more than doubled their output from the first half, while Williams managed just five more attempts. Each keeper made one save in the frame.
The length and competitive nature of the contest clearly took a toll.
“By the end of the match there, Williams—and really us as well—were cramping up pretty bad,” winger Noah Schlesinger ’13 said. “It was getting hard to keep the pace up, but we are proud of the result and look forward to next week.”
Wesleyan obviously would have liked a win, but at this point in the season against a talented opponent (Williams is currently first in the NESCAC, even after this draw), a tie is an admirable result.
As tends to be the case in scoreless draws, both defenses were in top form. However, both keepers contributed saves to preserve their shutouts. Wesleyan’s Adam Purdy ’13 turned away two of Williams’ 15 shots, while his counterpart Than Finan pushed four of Wesleyan’s 12 safely away from the goal.
Wesleyan remains in the hunt for its second straight Little Three victory, the success of which hinges on the results of Amherst’s contests against both the Cardinals and the Ephs. The Cardinals square off against Western New England University on Tuesday, Sept. 25, and then return to NESCAC play against Middlebury at Jackson Field this Saturday, Sept. 29.