The Hamilton men’s soccer team had two games on the weekend of Oct. 12 and 13. The Continentals faced off against Trinity College on Oct. 12 and Tufts University on Oct.13. The team was back in action on Saturday, Oct. 19, against Wesleyan University at home. They were able to extend their streak of unbeaten games to seven. The team continued to play strong defense, only allowing one goal in the seven-game streak.
The Continentals played the Trinity College Bantams on Oct. 12 in Hartford, C.T. They were able to pull off the 2–0 victory with two second-half goals. The goal scorers were Hagop Kouchakdjian ’21 and Aidan Wood ’20. After a scoreless first half, Wood broke the deadlock in the 48th minute with his fifth goal of the season. To set up the goal, Noah Giovannelli ’21 crossed the ball to Kouchakdjian; he headed the ball down, where it was put in a terrific position for Wood to put the ball in the back of the net and score the winning goal for the Continentals. The team gained some breathing room in the 60th minute with a goal from Kouchakdjian. This was a solid win over a struggling Trinity team that is 1–10–0 with a winless conference record. It was also great momentum heading into their next game against the top-ranked team in the nation, Tufts, as the team improved to 5–5–1 overall and 2–3–1 in conference play.
The Continentals’ home match against Tufts was an extremely hard-fought draw. Thomas Benson ’22 had an impressive eight saves to help the Continentals tie the Jumbos. The Continentals went down one goal in the 32nd minute, thanks to a header from a Tufts player on a set piece ten yards outside of the box.
Fortunately, the Continentals were able to tie the game in the 51st minute of play. Roth Wentzel ’22 went down in the box and a penalty kick was awarded to Hamilton. Wood was able to beat the Tufts goalie on the left side of the goal to tie the game. The Continentals were able to come away from the game with a draw after the rest of regulation and both overtime periods. They extended their unbeaten streak to six games against an elite team.
This past Saturday, Oct. 19, the Continentals went up against the Wesleyan University Cardinals. This game was another nail biter, again going into overtime. The Continentals were able to pull out the victory by scoring a goal in the overtime period. Wentzel scored in the second minute of overtime to earn the victory for the team. Benson had another impressive performance with five saves.
The Continentals have outscored their opponents 14–1 in their last seven games. This win improved the team’s overall record to 6–5–2 and their NESCAC record to 3–3–2. Their final regular season game is this Saturday, Oct. 24, against Connecticut College in New London, C.T. at 2:00 p.m.
