Ephs top MIT Engineers 1-0
No. 20 Williams men's soccer snuck by MIT today on 1-0 on the road. Than Finan earned the shutout for the Ephs with four saves, all coming in the second half. The win pushed the Ephs to 4-1-1 on the year, while MIT fell to 4-5-0.
The Ephs were again without co-captain Matt Ratacjzak '13 due to a concussion the center-back received against Wesleyan last Saturday. Typical starting right-back Phil Vestergaard '14 slid into the center-back position, with rookie Josh Miller-Lewis '15 stepping in on the right.
The Ephs started the game slowly before taking control of the game after the 15th minute. The decisive goal came in only the 33rd minute off of a long throw from Doug Weinrib '13. Vestergaard met the ball with his head on a slicing run through the box, and the ball flew past the Engineers' keeper to give the Ephs a 1-0 lead that the team took into half time.
"The first 15 minutes or so, for some reason we were a little sluggish," said Williams Head Coach Mike Russo. "The rest of the first half, we got a hold of the game and we were pressing, but we couldn't quite find the net."
MIT pressured Williams in the second half, outshooting Williams 9-5, but Finan and the Eph defense held strong, and the visiting Ephs walked away with the win.
"The second half, we played well for the first 20 minutes, but the last 10 or 15 they had a couple of chances," said Russo. "Fortunately, we were able to hold on. It wasn't the most artistic win, but we will take it."
Russo was particularly complimentary of his goalkeeper's play. "Than finan made good decisions," said the coach. "He was clean and safe."
Russo added: "Phil Vestergaard played well again filling in for [Ratajcak], and Angus Kennedy had bite in the midfield again today. Our front players had a few chances that they didn't finish, but hopefully they will tomorrow."
Williams travels to Babson tomorrow for a 1:30 p.m. game.
