Men's Soccer Championship Field Announced

Williams Earns Top Seed, First Round Bye for Fourth-Straight Year

HADLEY, Mass. - On a rain-soaked Saturday in New England, Williams College came away with the number-one seed and a first round bye for the 2006 NESCAC Men’s Soccer Championship. The Ephs will serve as host for the semifinals and final for the fourth year in a row, with the semifinals commencing on Saturday, Nov. 4, and the championship game taking place on Sunday, Nov. 5. First round action for the seven-team tournament begins on Sunday, Oct. 29.

Williams (12-1-0, 7-1-0 NESCAC) saw its regular season finale at Amherst called due to poor field conditions on Saturday, giving the Ephs the top seed in the 2006 NESCAC Men’s Soccer Championship by NESCAC rules as they were the team with the highest winning percentage at the end of the season. The lone loss so far this season for Williams came at home only two weeks ago on Oct. 14 when the Ephs fell to NESCAC foe Middlebury 3-2 in double-overtime. It was the first game all season that Williams had allowed more than one goal, as the Ephs have posted seven shutouts this season and have allowed eight goals all year. Williams has won a total of four NESCAC titles, falling short of a fifth-consecutive crown in 2005 after being tripped up by Wesleyan in the semifinals last year.

While second-seeded Amherst (11-1-1, 6-1-1 NESCAC) was unable to play for the number-one seed on Saturday, the Jeffs were guaranteed before the weekend of a first round home game on Sunday if they didn’t defeat Williams. The second seed is the highest position that Amherst has ever had in tournament play, beating out the third seed that the club earned for the 2003 tournament. Amherst has had a near-perfect season in 2006, with the Jeffs’ only loss coming at Bowdoin on Sept. 30, 1-0, and earning a scoreless tie at Wesleyan last weekend. Amherst will look to advance to the semifinals for the second-straight year on Sunday when it hosts seventh-seeded Tufts (7-6-1, 3-5-1 NESCAC). The Jumbos gained a little steam heading into Sunday’s contest in Amherst, Mass., with a 2-1 victory over Connecticut College on Saturday. Since falling 2-0 at Amherst on Sept. 23, Tufts has won seven of its last nine games, posting five shutouts during that span. The two teams have met twice in tournament play, both times in the first round (2000, 2002) with Amherst winning both matches by a goal.

Third-seeded Wesleyan (10-1-3, 6-1-2 NESCAC) secured its spot in the NESCAC championship field on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Bowdoin. The Cardinals have had a record-setting season to date this fall, after they opened the year with seven-straight victories and a program-best unbeaten streak of 11 games before finally falling at Williams on Oct. 22, 2-1 in overtime. Wesleyan will host sixth-seeded Bates (7-5-2, 3-4-2 NESCAC) on Sunday in a rematch of a contest played to a 3-3 draw just two weeks ago in Lewiston, Maine. The Bobcats head into the playoffs after tying Colby on Saturday 2-2 in a contest that was shortened by poor field conditions. Wesleyan will be looking to start this year’s championship strong after a magical run during the 2005 tournament that saw the Cardinals become the lowest seeded team ever to claim a NESCAC title as the seventh seed. Bates on the other hand will be looking for their first appearance ever in the semifinals, having fallen in the first round in overtime in each of the last two seasons. The two teams have met only once in NESCAC tournament play with Wesleyan edging out Bates 2-1 in overtime during 2004.

Fourth-seeded Bowdoin (10-3-1, 6-3-0 NESCAC) will take on fifth-seeded Middlebury (9-5-0, 5-4-0 NESCAC) in the final first round matchup on Sunday. While the Polar Bears dropped their final game of the regular season at Wesleyan on Saturday, they enter Sunday’s game with a 5-1-1 record in their last six outings. The Panthers started the 2006 campaign with an impressive 5-0-0 record but have cooled after a mid-season loss at Bowdoin on Oct. 1, 2-0, going 3-3-0 in their last six matches. Middlebury will have some momentum when it faces Bowdoin after defeating Trinity at home Saturday afternoon 3-0. Bowdoin will be looking to return to the semifinals this year after falling to Wesleyan in the first round last year, the first time in tournament history that the Polar Bears failed to make the semifinals, while Middlebury has advanced to the semifinals every year that the championship has been held. The two teams have met three times in the playoffs, each time coming in the semifinals with the last meeting in 2004, a 2-0 win for Middlebury. Bowdoin has also won one meeting, 2-1 in 2003, while the third meeting ended in a 1-1 tie with Middlebury advancing to the championship game on penalty kicks.

2006 NESCAC MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Sunday, October 29 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Tufts at No. 2 Amherst - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 Bates at No. 3 Wesleyan - 1:00 p.m.
No. 5 Middlebury at No. 4 Bowdoin - 1:30 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, November 4 at Williams
No. 1 Williams vs. lowest remaining seed
Remaining first round winners

Championship - Sunday, November 5 at Williams
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.