Soccer can sometimes be a very cruel game.

The No. 17 men's soccer team learned that the hard way on Saturday in its Sweet 16 NCAA Division III Tournament match against Williams College.

Last year, after making the tournament for the first time in 27 years, the squad lost to Williams, 1-0, in the Sweet 16 round.

On Saturday, for the second straight year at Amherst,-against the same opponent and in the same round-the team fell 2-0.

This year, the Judges conceded an early goal and created a plethora of chances to tie the game but Williams delivered the coup de grace with seven minutes to play.

The team ends its season with a 16-5-1 mark.

Following the game, coach Michael Coven felt that his team deserved more from the match.

"This loss really hurts, because I think we were a much better team [than Williams]," he explained. "Last year's game was a good match, I think we should have won, but we were the better team today."

Yet, just a month before, this year's team looked to miss the tournament after successive losses to Carnegie Mellon University and Emory University on Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, respectively, leaving its record at 11-4. However, Brandeis went 3-0-1 during the rest of the regular season, before beating Johnson & Wales University and Roger Williams University in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, to set up a chance at redemption.

After weathering defensive pressure from Brandeis, the Ephs took a corner kick just over three minutes into the game. While service was cleared, Williams left-back Chris Condor sent in a high, left-footed delivery that eluded goalkeeper Joe Graffy '15 and sailed into the top corner for a 1-0 advantage just three minutes, 54 seconds into the game.

While the goal set the Judges back, they knew that they had plenty of time to respond.

In the 10th minute, midfielder Sam Ocel '13 cracked an effort that Williams senior goalkeeper Peter Morrell tipped over the goal.

At the other end, Ephs sophomore forward Mohammed Rashid almost doubled his team's lead. After being set free in the box, Rashid attempted to curl a shot into the far corner, which Graffy adeptly deflected.

Despite threatening, the Judges were unable to chip away at the deficit and went into the half down by a goal.

Following the break, the Judges went on the attack. However, instead of finding the equalizer, the team spurned a few great chances.

In the 54th minute, midfielder Michael Soboff '15-who scored some key goals for the Judges this season-was unable to direct a cross home from left-back Ben Applefield '14 inside the box, slicing his close-range shot wide of the left post.

Shortly after, midfielder Tudor Livadaru '14 sent a free-kick on goal. However, the shot sailed straight to Morrell, who made the save.

Forward Tyler Savonen '15 had a half chance to equalize, running in toward the Williams goal with Morrell out of position. However, instead of taking an ambitious early shot, he waited and the ball was cleared from danger.

With eight minutes to play, forward Zach Vieira '17 sent a header over the bar, marking Brandeis' last meaningful chance.

As the Judges continued to push for an equalizer, Rashid-who struggled to finish all afternoon-finally delivered the killer blow in the 83rd minute, curling an effort around Graffy that caromed off the right post and into the net.

The Judges had several chances to try to cut the deficit, but it ultimately was not to be-Williams ran out 2-0 winners.
Coven lamented the team's failure to finish its shots.

"We played very well in the back third and middle third but I think we had one too many touches, one too many passes in the attacking third of the field," he said. "We were looking to just make that perfect shot, perfect pass and perfect dribble in the box. I tell them, 'once you get the ball in the box, shoot it.' We got behind their backs quite a bit but couldn't finish."

Though disappointed that his team was knocked out at the same stage of the season by the same foes, Coven admitted that-following successive losses to Carnegie Mellon University and Emory University on Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, respectively-he did not even think his team would make the NCAA Tournament this year.

"I remember sitting in the airport after the losses," he said. "We had a four-hour wait and I was sitting there saying, 'We'll be an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference team. Maybe we'll win that tournament.' Never did I think that we would turn it around and make the NCAA Tournament. But we did. They showed a lot of character, they knew what they had to do and they did it well."

While the team loses Applefield, midfielder Kyle Feather '14, Livadaru and Ocel, as well as other valuable contributors such as defender Ethan Berceli '14, midfielder Harold Salinas '14 and forwards Steve Salazar '14 and Matt Peabody '13, the team has a solid foundation coming back.

"This year's seniors are a special group," he said. "I'll miss them. They set a wonderful example for the younger kids, in the classroom, on the field and off the field.

"We lose some great players, but we lose great players every year," Coven continued. "A good program loses good players every year, but you're going to have other players coming up to replace them. If you can do that, then you're going to traditionally be good program."

And despite the stinging feeling of the loss, Coven was happy to look back on a successful campaign.

"It was a great season," he said. "We all feel bad right now and we all feel that we should be playing [in the next round]. But how many Division III schools in the country have soccer programs? Maybe 400? And here we are in the final 16. You have to be happy with that."

This year's senior class, a core that advanced to two consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, leaves the team in a position to hopefully compete for years to come.
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