Sports
Men’s soccer finishes as runnerup in NESCAC tournament
By Grecia Santos ’20
November 10, 2016
Tags sports
Hamilton College men’s soccer team wrapped up its season in the NESCAC conference, playing two matches over the weekend in Amherst, M.A. After qualifying for the final after defeating Middlebury College in the semi-final, the Continentals fell to Amherst College.
Coming into the tournament seeded fourth, the Continentals faced sixth-seeded Middlebury College on Saturday. The Panthers opened up the scoring in the 20th minute, with forward Greg Conrad ’17 taking advantage of a shot that was blocked by Hamilton goalie Linds Caldwell ’20. Drew Goulart ’20 of Middlebury brought the ball from the midfield, shooting towards Daniel O’Grady ’19, who shot towards Caldwell. Caldwell stopped O’Grady’s shot, but Conrad was able to control the rebound and then score.
The Continentals tied the game within five minutes, as Jefri Schmidt ’20 scored with a header. He was assisted by Mike Lubelczyk ’17, who kicked in a long entry pass. This is Schmidt’s fifth goal of the season, matching Lubelcyzk for the team lead. In the 53rd minute Hamilton was almost able to take the lead with a second goal, but Middlebury’s goalie, Greg Sydor ’17, dove to his left to block Lubelczyk’s shot to the right of the net. The Continentals were able to claim the lead in overtime, where Eli Morris ’18 scored 4:28 into the first overtime session. He was assisted by Alex Cadet ’17, who took a corner kick which Morris one-touched into the right corner of the net. Morris scored his third career goal and Caldwell made a career-high 10 saves to earn the win. This marked the first time the Continentals ever defeated Middlebury.
On Sunday, Hamilton made its first appearance in the NESCAC title game, facing defending NCAA champion Amherst College at Amherst’s Hitchcock Field. Amherst, the top seed in the NESCAC championship scored in the last seconds of the first half. Lee Nguyen ’19 was able to corral the ball after a shot by Cameron Bean ’17 was blocked by a Continental defender. Once intermission was over, Nguyen continued to score, hitting the net within the first five minutes of the second half. Nguyen was assisted by Bryce Ciambella ’17. Amherst scored their third goal in the 65th minute, where Weller Hlinomaz ’18 hit the net unassisted. In the first half Hamilton was able to maintain a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks. Goalie Linds Cadwell ’20 made a pair of saves while playing the first eighty five minutes; Jake Hamill ’17 finished the last 15 minutes in the net, blocking the one shot he faced.
Hamilton College men’s soccer made its second appearance in the NESCAC playoffs since originally joining the conference for men’s soccer in 2011. Their match against Amherst College marked their first appearance in the NESCAC title game. In their path to reach the finals, Hamilton defeated both Connecticut College and Middlebury College. Both of these victories were their first in NESCAC Championship competition. The Continentals wrapped up their season run with a 10-7-1 record while Amherst College ended their season with a 16-1-1 record, winning the NESCAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. While they fell just short of a NESCAC title, the members of the men’s soccer team have a lot to be proud of and have a lot of potential which will hopefully lead to success in the years to come.