For the men’s soccer team, Saturday’s opponents are anything but strangers. The Cardinals will face Williams College for the fourth straight year in NESCAC tournament play and will hope to reverse the trend of tough losses.
The men’s soccer team finds itself right back where it ended the season last fall. After fighting their way though a regular season that included a seven-game unbeaten streak, four double-overtime contests, and four rescheduled or relocated games, the Cards won when it meant the most (against Bowdoin last Sunday) to earn a spot in the semi-finals of the NESCAC tournament. It is like deja vu again, and again, as the Cards will once again face Williams, in Williamstown, in November.
The recent history between these two squads is rich, and while Williams has won every contest dating back to 1992, the series has not been without close contests. In last year’s semi-final match, Williams squeezed out a 1-0 victory in an evenly played game. The 2003 semi-final match saw Williams end the Cards’ season with a 3-1 victory despite the being out shot 18-12. In their most recent match up, Williams put away the Cards 3-0 in the season opener.
A relatively young Wesleyan team, the seventh seed in the tournament, has matured since that early season contest. Solidifying the defense and emerging as one the conference’s best goalkeepers, Matt Gnall ’08 has been a key factor in the team’s success thus far. He ranks no lower than fourth in the conference in saves per game, goals against average, and save percentage while showing an impressive knack for making the big save in the big spot.
In front of Gnall, the Cards back four have come together as the season has progressed. In particular, Justin Mello ’08 and David Baharestani ’07 have played gutsy defense on the flanks, while it is not clear if striker-converted-to-defender Jared Ashe ’07 has lost a head ball in the middle of the field yet.
Leading the attack for the Cards has been the Montclair, NJ connection of Brandon Smith ’08 and Matt Nevin ’09. The two have combined for ten of the team’s twenty-two goals and twenty-four points total. The scoring has been a team effort overall though, as ten different Cardinals have registered goals and thirteen have earned at least a point.
The Cards will need an effort similar to, if not better than, the one they put forth in defeating Bowdoin on Sunday. Along with home field advantage, Williams brings with them a 10-1-0 record in NESCAC tournament play since 2000 and a 9-0 mark against NESCAC opponents this season. Leading the conference’s number one scoring offense is the Ephs’s and the NESCAC’s leading individual goal scorer, Patrick Huffer ’07. Meanwhile, Williams leads the conference in fewest goals allowed and goalkeeper Nick Armington ’06 leads the conference in goals against average and save percentage. While the statistics may paint an ominous picture for the Cards, they have put forth numerous impressive performances on the road this year and are excited for another shot at a team consistently considered among the best in the country.
The game kicks off at 11:00 Saturday on Williams’ Cole field.
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