The Hamilton men’s soccer team ended their regular season last week, tied for sixth place in the NESCAC conference, making it the third time since entering the conference in 2011 that the team has qualified for the post-season tournament. Coach Nizzi spoke about the team’s aspirations saying, “The team’s goal has been to get back to the NESCAC final four for the second year in a row, to advance back to the final game (last year we were the first Hamilton College sports team to ever reach a NESCAC final game) and to win the final game this year to advance to the NCAA tournament.” Nizzi expressed that the team benefits from last year’s success, remarking that, “The team experience from last year has helped instill a lot of confidence, and the senior leadership has been a real positive.”
This past Saturday the team began down the path to that NCAA bid, with their first game against the Amherst Mammoths, the №10 nationally ranked team and second seed in the conference. The game started off slow for the Continentals, as the Mammoth’s scored in the eleventh minute of the game. The game was back and forth up the field, but the Mammoth’s defense kept the ball Hamilton at bay, making the score 1–0 Amherst at half time.
The second half looked promising, as the Continentals made attack after attack on goal. Yet the Mammoths continued to hold strong. Amherst scored their second point, making the game 2–0, a tough lead to come back from for the Continentals. Then, in a fast turnaround, Matt Kastilahn ’18 scored his first college career goal, making it 2–1, to initiate the Continentals’ comeback.
When speaking about the mindset of the team going into half time and the change that took place, Linds Cadwell ’20, the Hamilton goalie, said, “We went into the game knowing it would be a difficult game and that we couldn’t let up one goal if we wanted to win the game. Caldwell added that, “Letting up the first goal hurt our spirits, but for the remainder of the first half we kept knocking on the front of the goal, but we did not get the final push into the goal. Coming into the second half we still felt like we could get that goal, but after they got the second goal, I could feel a drop in spirit from the team.” Good spirits returned, however, when “Matt Kastilahn, one of our starting seniors, smashed home a goal from 20 yards out that fired us up again. Soon, we were having shots on goal what seemed like every other minute and absolutely dominated the game” Caldwell contributes Hamilton’s success to its motivation, claiming that, “Each player had this drive and strong mindset that won us the game. That goal gave the rest of the team hope.” After the first goal by Kastilahn, the team’s ferocity exploded. Soon the game was tied, as Aiden Wood ’20 scored off an unassisted shot on goal. Amherst could do little to stop the third Hamilton goal, scored again by Wood, off a pass from Jefri Schmidt ’20, upping the score to 3–2 for the Continentals.
However, Amherst was still in the fight and, with 14 minutes left, broke through Hamilton’s defense to score and tie the game. It looked like overtime was imminent, until, with just five minutes left, Wood scored his third goal of the game, assisted by Hagop Kouchakdjian ’21, making the score 4–3 Continentals, and securing the win for Hamilton.
When asked what led them through this tough game, Kastilahn said, “I think a major element of the team dynamic has been, and I can say this about any of my four years, accountability. Each player, regardless of position or playing time, knows that they are there for a reason. This extends beyond the individual too, setbacks are not blamed on one person or moment but rather responsibility is taken by the team. This helps us to stick to our game plan even when thing look bad. You are playing for the guys next to you and they are doing the same.” This team dynamic has been essential, and men’s soccer foresees this as being key component to their victory.
With the first game of the conference under their belt, Hamilton will face №1 seed and reigning NCAA champions Tufts on Saturday in the NESCAC semifinals. Coach Nizzi recognizes the Jumbos’ threat, but spoke of his confidence in the team saying, “Tufts has won the National Championship 2 of the last 3 years! Tough to do! We have played Tufts very well over the last 3 years, including last year’s 2–2 tie at Tufts and this year’s 1–0 loss at home. I believe the team will rise to the occasion and play a great game. It should be very close.” Kastilahn also has high hopes for the team, “We are excited to take on Tufts this weekend. The NESCAC is an extremely strong conference and nine times out of ten a game is won in a single moment. Any team can win on any given day, which makes it all the more exciting. Tufts is a good team, but we have been getting stronger each game and we really look forward to the chance to prove what we can do.”
As an additional sign of good fortune, Wood also received NESCAC player of the week. Wood scored three of the four goals in the Amherst game, to set a NESCAC championship record for most goals scored by a single player in a post-season game. He leads the conference in points scored at 19 points this year and is tied for first in goals with 8 goals this season.
The Continentals will travel to Medford, MA this Sat., Nov. 4, to play the Jumbos in the semifinals. The game will begin at 11:00 a.m..
