Courtesy Williams Sports Information

Box Score

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College men's soccer team used three first half goals to get passed Trinity 4-2 in the first round of the 2007 NESCAC Men's Soccer Championship. The win advances the Ephs into the semifinals where they will face Middlebury on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 11:00 a.m. in Amherst, Mass.

The Ephs (10-4-1) first got on the scoreboard when the senior backer Will Ford's line drive was redirected by the head of sophomore forward Connor Smith and past Bantam keeper Spencer Durland only 3:58 into the game. Williams would add an own goal 16 minutes later, before senior forward Kit Fuderich fielded classmate Mike Darling's cross and arched it over the head of Durland at the 31:05 mark to make it 3-0.

However, the Bantam's (8-7-0) refused to say die and notched two goals in the first eight minutes of the second half to bring the score to 3-2. The first goal came when junior forward Dan Kupper dropped a short pass to freshman midfielder Peter Marlette who promptly punched it in from point blank range only 5:04 into the half, and the second came three minutes later as a miscommunication at the top of the Eph box lead to an open net which senior forward Jonathan Hayes swiftly capitalized on.

The Ephs weathered the Bantam storm, and netted an insurance goal at the 64:51 mark when Ford punched in a cross from classmate Ryan Pelletier. The game would remain tightly contested, but the Ephs would hold on to win.

The Eph victory avenges their regular season loss to the Bantams.