Williams College earned the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC women’s soccer tournament after finishing the conference season with an 8-1-1 record and 25 points. The Ephs will host No. 8 Bates at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, at Cole Field in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
The top seed came down to the final conference results. Tufts finished 7-0-3 for 24 points and entered the tournament as the No. 2 team. NESCAC awards three points for a victory and one point for a tie. Williams and Tufts played to a 1-1 draw, while Williams gained an advantage by defeating Connecticut College and Trinity, two teams Tufts tied.
Williams enters on a seven-match run
Williams has gone 6-0-1 over its last seven matches and moved from 12th to ninth in the Division III NPI rankings. Tufts was fifth in the NPI entering the tournament. The Ephs’ regular-season meeting with Bates ended in a 1-0 Williams victory.
Bria Abbiati scored the only goal in that match, while University of Rhode Island transfer Chelsea Mohammed made two saves for Williams. The shutout was Mohammed’s fifth of the season, the second-highest total in the NESCAC, according to The Berkshire Eagle.
- Williams: No. 1 seed, 8-1-1 in NESCAC play, 25 points
- Bates: No. 8 seed, Saturday at 11 a.m. at Cole Field
- Semifinals and the championship: next weekend at the home fields of the highest remaining seeds
The tournament’s quarterfinal round also includes Tufts against No. 7 Wesleyan, No. 3 Amherst against No. 6 Connecticut College and No. 4 Middlebury against No. 5 Hamilton, based on the NESCAC field described by The Berkshire Eagle. Williams’ quarterfinal matchup is a rematch of its season-opening meeting with Bates.
Hamilton opens field hockey tournament at Williams
Hamilton College will also begin a NESCAC postseason tournament at Williams on Saturday. The Continentals are the No. 5 seed in field hockey and will play No. 4 Williams at 11 a.m. on Williamson Field. The game is scheduled alongside the women’s soccer quarterfinal, with the two Williams home fields hosting separate matches.
The NESCAC field hockey semifinals and championship game are set for next weekend at the home fields of the highest remaining seeds. Williams’ women’s soccer team and field hockey team therefore enter the weekend with home quarterfinals in two different conference tournaments.
