The Hamilton men’s soccer team wrapped up their season on Saturday, Nov. 3 in the semi-finals of the NESCAC tournament in Amherst, MA, dropping a 2–0 tilt to the Williams College Ephs. This was the Continentals third trip to the semifinals in as many years.
Hamilton finished the season 9–7–1 overall and 4–5–1 in NESCAC play. The Continentals’ road to the semi-finals was nothing short of a battle, as they beat Colby College 2–0 in Maine in the last game of the season to earn the 7-seed in the tournament.
In the quarterfinals, which took place on Sunday, Oct. 28 in New London, CT, the Continentals upset the 2-seeded and nationally-ranked Connecticut College Camels 1–0. The lone goal of the game came from first-year Roth Wetzel ’22, his third strike of the season.
The upset of the Camels was one of three upsets in the men’s soccer NESCAC tournament, with the 8, 7, and 6 seeds all beating their higher-seeded counterparts. Amherst’s win meant the Continentals would travel to Amherst to play Williams College, a team they had lost to 1–0 only three weeks prior at a mid-week game hosted in Clinton, N.Y.
Despite the absolutely dismal weather for the first semi-final game, by the time the Continentals took the field, the skies cleared, and the clouds rolled off. The Continentals’ best scoring chance came at the seventh minute when Luke Eckels ’20 rung the ball off the crossbar after a corner kick from Aiden Wood ’20.
The game stayed scoreless through the first half, with stand-out goalkeeper Thomas Benson ’22 making four saves. In 13 games played this season, Benson allowed only nine goals, boasting a 0.68 goals against average and a .908 save percentage, the second best in the NESCAC.
At minute 76, Williams solved Benson. Demian Gass headed the ball inside the left post for the game-winning tally. At minute 82, Williams sealed the deal with an insurance goal off a breakaway.
About the game, senior captain Matt Casadei ’19 said, “We controlled the game in the first half, but didn’t manage to put away our chances. Scoring that first goal is massive, especially in the NESCAC playoffs, as we saw against Conn in the first round. I have to give credit to Williams for taking advantage of their opportunities when they got some momentum going in the second half.”
The Continentals will lose seven seniors going into the 2019 season, including Casadei and senior captain Greg Milnarik ’19. Despite these losses, twenty of the team’s returning players will be juniors and sophomores, and head coach Perry Nizzi will begin his 22nd season at the helm. The senior leadership can leave knowing they have positioned the team well for future success.
