Sports
M. soccer scores first win against nationally ranked opponent since 2007
By Patrick Malin ’18
October 8, 2015
The Hamilton men’s soccer team tallied a momentous win during Fallcoming weekend, defeating reigning Division III national champion Tufts in double-overtime with a score of 2-1. Defenseman Spenser Heller ’17 scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes remaining to topple the nationally ranked Jumbos squad.
Coming upon Sunday’s matchup, Tufts was ranked number 12 in the nation in the Division III Coaches poll after starting the season with a 5-1 record. Tufts entered the season ranked at number one after winning the Division III National Championship 4-2 against Wheaton College (Ill.) last December.
The Continentals took the field Sunday hoping to avenge last season’s 2-0 loss at the hands of the Jumbos. Hamilton had several opportunities to score within the first half, but Tufts scored the lone goal of the half during a penalty kick in the 37th minute. Goalie Harris Pollack ’17 stopped the first penalty attempt, but the Jumbos were given a second try after the referee called off the first attempt because he had been in the process of issuing a yellow card to the Hamilton bench.
“As a defensive unit, we put a lot of focus into keeping the ball in front of us, and we managed to do that very effectively against Tufts, with almost all of their opportunities coming on long-range shots,” Heller said.
With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, Tufts fouled Erich Marcks ’16 inside the Tufts penalty box, giving the Continentals a chance to draw even. Marcks stepped up to the penalty spot and blasted a shot past the Tufts goalie, leveling the score at 1-1 with Marcks’s first goal of the 2015 season.
Following a scoreless first overtime period, the Continentals intercepted a Tufts corner kick, starting a dangerous counter-attack towards the Tufts goal. Killian Clancy ’18 took the ball down the left side of the pitch and delivered a cross into the penalty box, where Jack Temko ’18 redirected a pass across the box to Heller. Heller put the ball into the back of the net to tally the “golden goal,” ending the game and sealing the Hamilton victory.
“We’ve had some very late goals in games this season, so everyone knew if we kept pressing, we’d have a good opportunity to win the game. We worked hard to win the ball in the attacking third, Clancy put in a very dangerous ball into the box, and it created a great goal-scoring opportunity that we capitalized on,” Heller said.
The Continentals’ victory improved the squad’s overall record to 4-5, with a NESCAC record of 2-4. More importantly, the win against the nationally ranked Tufts team moved the Continentals into a coveted playoff spot with just a few weeks remaining in the season, overtaking the Bowdoin Polar Bears for the eighth and final playoff position.
“The biggest thing about gaining three points from the Tufts game is that we are now in control of our own destiny. We hopefully will not have to rely on results from other teams, and can now go out and take care of business,” Heller said.
Using goals by Myles Pindus ’19 and Alex Cadet ’17, the Continentals capitalized on their momentum from the win over Tufts by beating the Ithaca Bombers to improve to 5-5 for the season.
The Continentals will take on an undefeated Amherst team at home on Oct. 10, looking to stun another top NESCAC opponent. The final three games of the season represent an important stretch for Hamilton’s playoff aspirations. The Continentals will travel to Maine to play Bowdoin on Oct. 17 and then to Massachusetts for a matchup against Williams. The Continentals will conclude their season with a home game at Love Field against Colby over Family Weekend, hoping to clinch a spot in the NESCAC playoffs.
Heller said, “We know that every team in the NESCAC plays at such a high level, so we just need to focus on playing consistently and getting results. I would say our main focus is to play consistently throughout the entirety of the game, something we did very well against Tufts.”