Late goal gives Ephs 1-0 win over New Paltz
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass - Williams men’s
soccer captain, Conor Smith, converted a desperation cross with
just 26 seconds remaining to give the Ephs the victory over
previously unbeaten New Paltz 1-0 in non-conference play
Tuesday.
The sensational late goal gives the Ephs (1-0-1) their first win
of the season, and hands the Hawks (4-1-1) their first defeat in
six games.
For the vast majority of the game it was Williams, not New Paltz,
that appeared to be the team riding a three game win streak --
instead of a young team playing just their second match of the
season.
And if a contest was determined by control of play, then the Ephs
would have walked off of Cole Field with a resounding dominating
win. The Ephs poured it on throughout, as they dominated possession
time, shots (Williams: 29, Paltz: 6), corners (Williams: 3, Paltz:
1), 50-50 balls, and at times even appeared to be creating chances
at will. However, thanks in large part to a stellar performance by
Paltz keeper Peter Carmel (6 saves) and an inability to finish on
the part of the Ephs, the Hawks were able to take it to the wire
and nearly steal the victory.
But ultimately, New Paltz, playing in its third game in just four
days, couldn’t hold back the tide forever.
“We just couldn’t put it together in front of the net
for most of the game,” remarked Eph head coach Mike Russo,
“I give them (New Paltz) a lot of credit. They had a lot
heart. We knew the goal would come, thankfully Conor made it
happen.”
After two periods in which Williams produced golden opportunity
after golden opportunity only to see an open shot miss wide or a
perfect pass sail just beyond a wide open forward, Smith’s
late goal took on even more significance.
As the final moments ticked away and Williams continued to bombard
the Hawk net to no avail, it appeared as if the two teams would
inevitably settle the score in over time. However, a final late
cross into the box by senior Ben Mackinnon perfectly connected with
the head of Smith in front of the net, who flicked it just past the
outstretched fingers of Carmel and caught the top of the net to
give the Ephs the win.
The Ephs pressed the Hawks early and often in the first half,
forcing play primarily into the visitors end. Time-after-time the
pressure produced excellent opportunities, sometimes with the long
ball to a streaking Gaston Kelly or Charles Romero and other times
with a rapid succession of one touch passes that appeared to
involve the entire team.
Perhaps the best chance of the first half for the Ephs came in the
24th minute, when Kelly’s low line drive corner kick flew
right across the face of the goal from near to far post only to be
knocked over the net by an Eph attacker.
The Second half followed much the same script, as the Ephs
continued to control the play and produce goal scoring chance.
However, the Hawks did not sit idly by and nearly stunned Williams
in the 65th minute when New Paltz’ Tommy Garafola, after
juking out a pair of Eph defenders, launched a shot that was barely
knocked aside by Eph keeper Andrew Lyons-Berg (1 save). The ensuing
ricochet pin-balled around the Williams box before finally being
cleared to safety.
The dodged bullet seemed to galvanize the Ephs who quickly
responded with five shots over the next five minutes, and continued
to ratchet up the pressure until the final moment when Smith gave
the Ephs the win.
The Ephs will look to build off of the win and make it two in a
row when the host conference rival Connecticut College Saturday,
September 19th. That game is scheduled for a 12:00 PM kick off.
