Box Score Camels Knock Off Ephs for First Time Since 1992
NEW LONDON, Conn.--Marino Patrk (Greenwich, Conn.) and Pat Devlin (Washington Crossing, Pa.) scored second half goals to lead the Connecticut College men's soccer team to a
2-1 triumph over Williams College in NESCAC men's soccer action played on Freeman Field at Tempel Green Saturday.
It was the first time the men's soccer program had defeated Williams since the Camels' won their 1992 ECAC Crown against the Ephs.
Austin DaCunha (Brookfield, Conn.) finished with three saves for the hosts.
The Camels improved their record to 4-3 while evening their mark at 2-2 in the NESCAC. The Ephs fell to 3-3-1 with a 2-2 record in conference play.
Zach Punt (West Hartford, Conn.) anchored a Camel defensive unit and came up with a big defensive stand he headed out a dangerous ball on a long Williams cross that thwarted a scoring opportunity with five minutes left.
"Williams is always putting us on our heels," Punt said. "They brought a ton of energy and we had to deal with it. But one of the biggest things for us as a defense is to understand that if we don't give up any goals, we have a great chance to win or at least tie. We're shooting for clean sheets and that's what's on the top of our mind."
Williams College senior forward Zach Grady (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored a goal with 4:23 remaining in regulation to cut the lead in half. J.C. Bahr-de Stefano (Manhattan, N.Y.) assisted on the score.
Bobby Schneiderman (Livingston, N.J.) finished with five saves for the visitors.
The Camels held an 8-to-3 edge on the shot chart in the first stanza but could not get on the board.
But in the 52nd minute, Patrk made a key play that shifted the momentum in favor of the hosts. The Ephs had a communication issue on a ball that was being defended near the goal line and Patrk was able to induce the turnover and get behind the keeper for the score.
"We came out and showed how we have depth today," Patrk said. "We have a lot of injuries but guys stepped up. We showed our true character and pressed hard. We got through our tackles. We had energy on the bench and on the field all day long."
In the 61st minute of action, the Camels extended their advantage when Ousmane Dia (Brooklyn, N.Y and Senegal, Africa) made a nifty looking feed to Devlin down the right side. Devlin unloaded with a low blast from near the 18 to put the hosts on top 2-0.
Williams mounted pressure down the stretch and finally broke through with Grady's goal in the 86th minute.
But it was not enough and the Camels were able to hang on for the 2-1 victory.
Connecticut College finished with a 12-to-7 edge on the shot chart and a slim 2-to-1 advantage on corner kicks.
