Sports
Men’s soccer shuts out Utica but suffers tough loss to Bowdoin
By Robert Berk ’20
October 20, 2016
Tags sports
While a large portion of Hamilton students went home over fall break, the men’s soccer team played two games. The Continentals beat Utica College on Wednesday, 3-0. Unfortunately, they lost in a heartbreaker to Bowdoin in overtime, 2-1, on Saturday. With only two NESCAC games left and one non-conference game remaining, Hamilton is positioned well on the top half of the table.
Wednesday’s win over the Utica Pioneers was a full team effort. A whopping seven different players scored a goal or recorded an assist for the Continentals. Hamilton’s first goal came a little under 20 minutes into the game. Alex Cadet ’17 took a corner kick, sending the ball towards the box, where Killian Clancy ’18 knocked the ball towards Mike Lubelcyzk ’18 who finished the opportunity. It was Lubelcyzk’s third goal of the season.
Just over 10 minutes into the second half Hamilton scored their second goal of the game. A pair of first-years combined for the attack. Jefri Schmidt ’20 ran down the right side of the pitch and then centered the ball to Aidan Wood ’20, who rifled the ball past the goalie towards the far post. It was the first career assist for Schmidt and first career goal for Wood. When asked about what if felt like to score his first career goal Wood said, “I was just in the right place at the right time. I have to credit Luke [Eckels ’20] for the ball that allowed Schmidt to send the great pass to me. However, I definitely feel more relaxed now because I have been close to scoring before but didn’t finish those chances. I am happiest that it came in a win because that is what is most important.”
The Continentals wrapped up the scoring with a goal in the 86th minute. Coach Perry Nizzi’s substitutions paid off as two of them combined for the goal. Rowan Myers ’19 crossed the ball in from the right wing and then Matt Cerveny ’18 volleyed the ball into the left side of the net.
The Continentals shut out the Pioneers thanks to outstanding play from the goalkeepers. Harris Pollack ’17 started and played the first 50 minutes making three saves, but then Linds Cadwell ’20 went in for the rest of the game and made two saves. The Continentals outshot the Pioneers 18 to 7, but Utica had more corner kicks in the first half (six), than Hamilton had in the whole game (four). This win gave the Continentals momentum heading into a key NESCAC showdown against Bowdoin.
On Saturday the Continentals hosted Bowdoin. However, just three minutes into the game the Polar Bears struck first. Matty McColl ’19 crossed the ball in from the right side of the 18-yard box and Moctar Niang ’19 headed it past the Continentals keeper, Pollack, for his first goal of the day. 30 minutes later Hamilton equalized. After a handball call on the Polar Bears, Clancy placed the 20-yard direct free kick over the wall and bent it to the far post. It was Clancy’s third goal of the season. The Continentals used the momentum from their goal to continue to attack for the rest of the first half as they out shot the Polar Bears eight to four.
Bowdoin changed their formation at halftime by packing the midfield with five players. This effective change shifted the flow of the game. The Polar Bears were able to keep possession of the ball and put on consistent pressure, forcing the Continentals to have a hard time controlling the ball and making progress up the field. Bowdoin’s pressure was evident as they totaled four corner kicks and four shots, whereas Hamilton only totaled two shots and no corners. The Continentals hung tough and did not concede a goal in the second half.
In the NESCAC, overtime is golden goal or sudden death. The overtime period was incredibly intense. In only 10 minutes of action, both teams took two shots. With one minute left in overtime the Polar Bears sent a long ball into the box. The Continentals defended it safely by heading it away towards the corner, but unfortunately the ball rolled out of bounds. As the clock ticked down Ethan Ellsworth ’18 of Bowdoin took the corner kick. He sent the ball to the back post where Niang connected with it and headed it home for the game winner. Time expired as the ball crossed the goal line.
While the loss to Bowdoin was definitely tough, it will be used to motivate the team to finish the last two weeks of the regular season strong. The last regular season game is Wednesday, Sept. 26 against SUNY Polytechnic at 4:30 p.m.