Williamston, MA - Thomas College (15-2-2) will travel to play Williams College (13-1-3) in the 2012 Division III Men's Soccer Championship first round game at 11:00 AM on Saturday, November 10, at Cole Field.
How they got here:
Thomas defeated Green Mountain College 4-0, Maine Maritime Academy 4-0, and Husson University 3-0 in the North Atlantic Conference tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.
Williams College Ephs suffered their first loss of the year in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship game, when they were defeated by Amherst College 2-0. Despite the loss, Williams earned an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.
What they've done lately:
Thomas is riding a lot of momentum heading into this matchup. The Terriers have played three games in the NAC playoffs and have not let up a goal, while netting 11 of their own. During those games, their goals have been evenly dispersed, as they have scored five goals during the first half and six goals in the second half. Thomas has outshot their opponents 48-30 in the playoffs. Thomas enters the match riding a nine-game winning streak.
During the NESCAC playoffs, Williams' two wins were won by a total of one goal. Their semifinal win against Tufts University ended with a score of 0-0, and was eventually won by the Ephs in penalty kicks, 4-2. In their quarterfinal victory over Connecticut College, Williams came back to score the final two goals of the game to take the 2-1 win.
Historically Speaking:
This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
Thomas is making its second appearance in the NCAA tournament (Last appearance: 2010)
Williams is making its 17th appearance in the NCAA tournament (Last appearance: 2010)
Coaches Corner:
Head Coach Christopher Parsons has guided Thomas to the NAC playoffs in both of his two seasons at the helm, with one NAC championship. His playoff record is 3-1. Prior to taking over at Thomas, Parsons spent three seasons as the head coach at the University of Maine at Farmington.
Mike Russo enters his 34th season at Williams College. During his time, the Ephs have won at least 10 games in 28 of his 34 seasons. He has guided Williams to four Division III NCAA Final Four appearances, and has won one National Championship. Over his career, he has been named the Division III coach of the year four times.
Who to watch:
For Thomas, sophomores Dakota Duplissie (Hampden, Maine), Marcus Johnson (Sandy's, Bermuda), Khamisi Lightbourne (Sandy's Bermuda), and Kenny Cano (Lowell, Mass.) have all scored two goals during the NAC conference playoffs. Leading goal scorer junior Michael Hand (Essex, England) appears back in form after missing time due to injury.
Thomas junior goalkeeper Mikkail Crockwell (St. David's, Bermuda) has faced 11 shots over the playoffs, and all 11 did not cross the goal line. Crockwell has only surrendered 10 goals on the year, and ranks fourth in the nation in save percentage.
For Williams College, junior User Kushaina (Mutare, Zimbabwe) leads the team with five goals on the year and is second on the team with 11 points. With four goals on the year, freshman Mohammad Rashid (Accra, Ghana) follows Kushaina closely and leads the team with 13 points. Williams has had solid goaltending on the year. The time has been split between two goaltenders, junior Peter Morrell (Brunswick, Maine) and senior Than Finan (Williamstown, Mass.). They have combined to let up only nine goals on the year. Finan ranks first in the nation in save percentage.
