For nearly 100 minutes on Saturday, the men's soccer team withstood every shot, cross and half−chance Williams threw its way. It was in that 100th minute, however, that the Ephs finally broke through, netting a goal to earn a 1−0 victory in front of hundreds of Jumbo parents in town for the weekend.
"They're a dangerous attacking team, and we played well defensively, but if you give up chance after chance, eventually they're going to get one," senior quad−captain midfielder Chris Flaherty said.
With less than a minute remaining in the first overtime period, Williams senior co−captain Gaston Kelly received a ball from the right side near the 25−yard line, turned on his man and hit a blur of a shot that didn't stop until it hit the back of the Tufts net. It was the sixth goal of the season for Kelly, who ranks among the top of the league in scoring and points.
"I couldn't see the play develop too well, but their player made a great early turn and was able to hook an excellent shot inside the left post," Tufts junior goalkeeper Alan Bernstein said. "The way the game was going, you could tell it was going to take a special piece of attacking quality from either team to win the game. Unfortunately for us, they were able to do so. I think we certainly deserved a point, but that's soccer for you."
Williams maintained possession for most of the game, with the run of play consistently staying within Tufts' half of the field. The Ephs came in averaging over two goals per game and, with the striking duo of Kelly and fellow senior Charles Romero, the Jumbos had their hands full from the get−go. Williams hit 15 shots towards the Tufts net, with nine finding their way on frame.
"They pair well together," Flaherty said of Williams' front line. "One's a big athletic player and the other is very good on the ball. They're very dangerous to play against."
For the entirety of regulation and into overtime the Tufts defense and Bernstein were up to the challenge. Bernstein made eight saves on the afternoon, several of which denied what seemed to be certain goals. The best may have come in the 33rd minute, when Bernstein leapt to parry a shot from Williams' senior Alex Johnson and was able to just get a fingertip to the ball to deflect it off the crossbar and away from danger. The Jumbo goalie also made a fantastic save on a cross late in the second half, punching the ball clear as two Williams forwards streaked through the box.
"Bernstein's been getting better as the season's gone along and I think this has been his best game," Flaherty said. "He was coming off his line well and he made some huge saves and really kept us in the game."
Tufts was also able to contain Williams on set pieces, a facet of the game where the Ephs looked to take advantage of their sizable height advantage. Williams had seven corner kicks in the game, as well as a number of free kicks inside the Tufts half that put the pressure on the Jumbos. The visiting side also benefited from the long throw−in of sophomore Doug Weinrib, who turned almost any Williams throw on the Tufts half into a chance on net. But the Jumbos played beyond their size behind Bernstein's aggressiveness and sophomore center back Michael Walker's presence to keep Williams off the board.
"Williams was a pretty big team, but the truth about defending is that smaller guys can cover bigger guys on set pieces if they have the right aggressive mentality," Bernstein said. "On Saturday, we swarmed their tall guys and did an outstanding job on set pieces and throw−ins to take away their ability to flick the ball on toward goal."
While the defense proved sturdy for Tufts, it was on the offensive end where they faltered. The Jumbos struggled to connect passes and keep possession, managing only two shots on the day with just one of them being on target.
"Williams played very direct and we fell into their style instead of playing our passing, building game," Flaherty said. "We're getting there, but we really need to start connecting the first two passes and the rest will come."
In the end, however, the Tufts defense could only withstand so much pressure from a relentless Williams attack. After Bernstein made a pair of point−blank saves in overtime to keep Tufts' hopes alive, the Ephs finally broke through with Kelly's goal. Seconds after the ball hit the net, a number of Jumbos, from a mix of exhaustion and despair, collapsed to the ground.
With the loss, the Jumbos (5−6−2, 3−3−2 NESCAC, 11 points) no longer have a chance to secure a home playoff game, but they remain focused on closing out the regular season with a win against Bowdoin on Friday to head into the playoffs with positive momentum.
"I think we'll try to continue our commitment to keeping our shape and defending hard," Bernstein said. "But I think we would like to see that commitment extend to keeping possession of the ball so we can press numbers forward into the attacking half. We fear no team in this league and we look forward to our final regular season game this Friday."
