Sunday was a pivotal day around the NESCAC, wrapping up successful seasons in men's and women's soccer, field hockey and volleyball that will send 10 different teams from the league to their respective NCAA tournaments.
The Williams Ephs narrowly escaped on Sunday with the 2006 men's soccer championship title in a game after 110 minutes of scoreless play. Williams held on to a 3-2 penalty kick lead over Middlebury when senior goalkeeper Jeff Castiglione's diving save of a shot by the Panthers senior Billy Brennan ended their quest for the NESCAC crown.
Williams, which earned its fifth NESCAC title with the win, will be joined by league rivals and recipients of at-large bids Amherst, Wesleyan, and Middlebury in the NCAA Tournament.
In first round action, Wesleyan (10-2-3) will face Baruch (12-6-1), Amherst (11-2-2) will face Westfield State (11-8-0), and Middlebury (11-5-1) will face St. Lawrence (11-5-2). The Ephs secured a bye and will host their first opponent, the winner of the match-up between Keene State (14-5-1) and Lasell (15-5-0), on Nov. 11.
The NESCAC women's soccer tournament also ended in dramatic fashion with an overtime goal by Middlebury senior midfielder Erin Oliver, as the third-seeded Panthers stunned the top-seeded Amherst Lord Jeffs this past Sunday.
The win sealed an automatic NCAA Tournament bid for the Panthers (13-2-1), who will go on to meet first round opponent Scranton (12-6-2) on Saturday. Despite the loss, the Lord Jeffs (12-2-1), who finished the 2006 regular season atop the NESCAC standings, managed to capture the only at-large berth granted to the league. They will also play Saturday, facing Kean University (12-4-2).
Amherst and Middlebury, coming off of impressive wins over Bates and Colby respectively, played a hard-fought, physical game. Neither team saw a goal scored until Oliver, who has scored in six of her last eight games, took control in the final minutes of the first overtime period to secure the first NESCAC title since 2000 for a Middlebury team that struggled early on in the season.
"We've grown a lot as a team," Middlebury coach Peter Kim said. "We started off a little up-and-down, and we lost a couple games we felt we should have won, but those things galvanized us and made us stronger."
Although Kim and his team are looking forward to success in the NCAA Tournament, they know that in the postseason all bets are off.
"Anytime you make it to the NCAA is like starting a new season," Kim said. "Soccer is a game anyone can win. Sometimes you dominate and lose, and other times you squeak by with a win even though you don't deserve it. We feel confident that we can play with anybody in the tournament, and it's just a matter of staying relaxed and focused and taking care of each game as it comes."
Unfortunately for Middlebury, their field hockey team did not see the same success this weekend. In a match of two top-five teams in the nation, there could only be one winner, and the Panthers fell 1-0 to a dominant Bowdoin team that claimed its second NESCAC title in a row and third overall, equaling the most league championships won since the league's conception.
Despite the loss to the Polar Bears, the selection committee rewarded Middlebury, the second-place finisher in the NESCAC regular season with an at-large bid and a first-round bye. Despite a Williams first-round loss that sent them home early in the conference tournament, the selection committee also gave the nod to the Ephs who ended at third place in the league at the regular season's conclusion.
While Williams (12-3) is now set to face Maine-Farmington (15-2) on Nov. 8, both Middlebury and Bowdoin, with first-round byes, will await the winners of first-round games: Middlebury (14-3) will duel either William Smith (16-3) or Eastern (17-4) while Bowdoin will match up with Wellesley (15-4) or Keene State (18-4).
The Polar Bears, who advanced to the NCAA Semifinals last year, are hoping to repeat their success in the tournament.
"I think we're just going to try and build on our performance on Sunday and particularly our finish," Bowdoin coach Nicky Pearson said. "That's going to be a focus this week, irrespective of whether we play Keene or Wellesley - we're going to go up against a good defense and a good goalkeeper."
The NESCAC volleyball tournament also concluded on Sunday, with third-seeded Amherst upsetting first-seeded Williams in four games to advance to the NCAA tournament. Despite dropping the first game 30-20, the Lord Jeffs came back with help from junior Jaclyn DeMais, who finished with 18 kills and 26 digs, to win the next three games by scores of 30-27, 30-27, and 30-20.
Despite Williams' impressive regular season record of 25-7 and solid play in the NESCAC Tournament, it will not punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for its efforts. Amherst (26-6) will appear against Emmanuel (20-10) on Nov. 9 as the NESCAC's sole representative, as a formidable MIT team claimed an at-large bid that could have potentially gone to another NESCAC competitor had the Engineers received the NEWMAC's automatic bid.
