Ephs Claim Number One Seed for Third Consecutive Season

HADLEY, Mass. – With a perfect 9-0 league record, Williams College, the two-time defending NESCAC Women’s Soccer Champion, has secured the top seed for the 2009 NESCAC Women’s Soccer Championship. It is the third year in a row that the Ephs have claimed the number-one seed for the conference championship, as the top four seeds are all the same from the 2008 tournament. Quarterfinal contests will take place this Sunday, Nov. 1 at 12:00 p.m. at Amherst, Middlebury, Tufts and Williams with the highest remaining seed after the first round earning the right to host the semifinals and championship on Saturday-Sunday, Nov. 7-8.

Williams (14-0-0, 9-0-0 NESCAC) capped a perfect regular season for the third time this decade (2001, 2007) on Friday afternoon at Middlebury, but the task was by far anything but easy down the stretch. After getting past Tufts at home last Saturday 1-0 on a late goal from senior Brianna Wolfson (Brookville, N.Y.), the Ephs slipped past the Panthers with another late tally, this time off the foot of senior Sarah Walmsley (Pelham Manor, N.Y.) in the 88th minute. Williams will bring the conference’s top offense and defense into Sunday’s quarterfinal against eighth-seeded Colby (6-7-1, 2-6-1 NESCAC). The Mules will be looking to get back into the win column after suffering a 1-0 setback at Maine rival Bates on Friday afternoon. Since dropping its Sept. 26 meeting with Williams 3-0, Colby has put together a 5-4-0 overall record, however all four losses have come against conference foes. This will be the third meeting in the last four years between these two clubs in the first round. The Ephs won last year’s match 4-0, but the Mules came away with a 2-1 victory over the hosts in the 2006 first round.

Second-seeded Amherst (11-2-1, 7-1-1 NESCAC) had its six-game winning streak halted at Trinity when the two played to a scoreless tie on Friday. It was only the third time this season that the Jeffs have been held scoreless, as Amherst had outscored opponents 18-2 since its last last loss, a 3-0 win by Williams on Oct. 3. Amherst, which won the NESCAC title in 2001 and again in 2003, will take on seventh-seeded Wesleyan (8-5-1, 4-5-0 NESCAC) in a rematch of last year’s quarterfinals. The Cardinals finished the regular season on a high note Friday afternoon, rolling past Connecticut College 3-0 for their third win in the past four games. The lone loss during that stretch, though, came at Amherst on Oct. 24, 2-0. Last fall, Amherst edged Wesleyan in the first-ever playoff contest for the Cardinals by a 1-0 score as the Jeffs reached the semifinals for only the second time in the past five years.

While third-seeded Middlebury (10-2-2, 7-2-0 NESCAC) fell short in its attempt to ruin Williams’ perfect regular season, the Panthers knew heading into the weekend that it would be at home on Sunday in the quarterfinals. The Panthers will host the sixth-seeded Polar Bears of Bowdoin (8-6-0, 4-5-0 NESCAC) in the third playoff meeting for the two teams. Bowdoin’s 1-0 win against Tufts on Friday put them in a two-way tie for sixth with Wesleyan, however the Polar Bears had the edge over the Cardinals thanks to a 2-1 overtime victory in Middletown, Conn. on Oct. 10. The lone meeting of the season between Bowdoin and Middlebury went to the Panthers on Sept. 26, 2-0 in Brunswick. Both squads have been impressive since that game, as the Polar Bears have gone 6-3-0 while the Panthers put together a 6-2-2 mark. Not only will Sunday’s outing be the third time these two have squared off in tournament play, it will also be the third time that they have faced each other in the 3-6 match - with the win going to the higher seed both times. Bowdoin won the 2005 contest 5-1 before Middlebury turned the tables the next year in a 3-1 victory. Both of these teams have been successful in championship play over the years. The Polar Bears have reached the semifinals eight times, more than any other NESCAC squad, but have only advanced to the final once (2007). The Panthers, meanwhile, won the inaugural championship in 2000 and added their second title in 2006.

The final quarterfinal home contest went to fourth-seeded Tufts (7-6-1, 4-4-1 NESCAC). The Jumbos not only tied in the standings with their first round opponent, fifth-seeded Trinity (5-4-4, 3-3-3 NESCAC), but also tied them during the regular season, 1-1 on Oct. 17 in Medford, Mass. Tufts earned the right to host via the next tie-breaker, which is conference wins. Sunday’s quarterfinal match will be the first between these two programs in playoff history. The Jumbos have struggled to reach the semifinals over their last three tournament appearances, advancing only once during that stretch. The Bantams, meanwhile, have been shutout in each of their last four first round appearances, as their lone playoff goal came in 2001. Tufts lone tournament title came during the 2002 championship.

2009 NESCAC WOMEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Sunday, November 1 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Colby at No. 1 Williams - 12:00 p.m.
No. 7 Wesleyan at No. 2 Amherst - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 Bowdoin at No. 3 Middlebury - 12:00 p.m.
No. 5 Trinity at No. 4 Tufts - 12:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, November 7 at Highest Remaining Seed
11:00 a.m./1:30 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, November 8
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.