Ephs Cruise to 8-1 Opening Day Victory
WILLIAMSTOWN, Ma - The Williams College men's soccer team overcame an early deficit with eight unanswered goals to cruise to an 8-1 opening day win over visiting Castleton State Saturday. The lopsided victory sets the bar high for the perennial NESCAC power, who will be looking to improve on the 2007 Eph squad which finished with a 12-5-2 record and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament.
The Ephs (1-0) consistently out-maneuvered, out-ran, and out-bodied the tired Spartans (1-3), for whom the game marked the third contest in just six days, en route to building an overwhelming advantage in nearly every offensive category, including shots (Williams - 28, Castleton - 4), corner kicks (Williams - 9, Castleton - 1), and time of possession. The balanced Eph attack, which scored by committee, was anchored by a pair of goals from both Gaston Kelly and Sam Empson.
Castleton's lone offensive burst materialized just 4:09 into the game, when Ryan Hahn and John Costa exploited a seam in the Eph defense with a series of give-and-go passes before Costa headed it past Eph goal-keeper Andrew Lyons-Berg (0 saves) to record the games first tally. However, the Ephs erased the Spartan advantage only 37 seconds later when the rebound from Peter Gordon's near -miss was promptly punched in by Kelly.
Empson would add his first goal just under five minutes later, and the Ephs never looked back as Gaston Kelly, Pierre Meloty-Kapella, and Colin Ainsworth would all add goals before the half was through, giving the Ephs an imposing 5-1 lead at the intermission.
The Spartans were able to maintain several prolonged offensive pushes in the 2nd half, but could do little to unravel the Ephs grip on the game, as the Ephs offense continued to have its way.
Williams would notch additional insurance goals from Sam Empson, Matthew Staiger, and Peter Houston in the second half, but it was Alex Kramer's multiple runs and crosses (which ultimately earned him two assists) that proved to be the consistent spark for the Ephs in the later portion of the second half.
The Ephs continued to create opportunities and control the midfield throughout the rout.
"I am very pleased, with our performance today, especially how we bounced back early." Remarked Eph head coach Mike Russo, for whom the victory marks an optimistic beginning for his 30th year as Williams head coach. "We still have a long way to go, but considering it was just opening day - I was very pleased."
The Ephs look to keep it going in their conference opener against Bates next Saturday, September 13. Game time to be announced.
