Beloit College Men’s Soccer made history over the weekend in their win against the Cornell College Rams. The win secured the Buccaneers a place in the Midwestern Conference Tournament, the first time in 13 years that this has happened.
The game ended in a score of 2-1. The winning goal was scored by Nicholas Williams’28 with less than eight minutes left in the second half. The moment was special for the team, not only because of their lead, but also because it was Williams’ first goal of the season. “Today our coach said he should have [the goal] because it’s there for them,” player Kwasi Asante’26 said, “and he had it. It really meant a lot to the team.”
When asked about the moment, Williams told The Round Table how good it felt to score his first goal, at such a time, too. “I’ve been waiting for it all season,” he said, “as soon as I got the ball, I knew.”
The first goal of the game was scored by Cornell in the 13th minute, but the Bucs came back in minute 19, with a goal from forward Rafael Cervantes Jr.’25. After the game, Cervantes showed his gratitude towards his teammates: “We made history. It just goes to show all the work that everyone puts in day in and day out, things that people don’t see. I love these boys.”
The game was 90 minutes of small battles, and eventually the Bucs came out on top. Possession was the ultimate battle after Williams’ goal put Beloit in the lead. “[Once the second goal was scored,] we just had to control the ball until we won,” Asante said. And that is exactly what they did.
During the game, the crowd was high-energy and vocal. Spectators seated on bleachers were frequently brought to their feet at times of tension and excitement. Words and screams of encouragement spilled out of the crowd with little let-up.
The win puts the Bucs at the second seed in the tournament. They will play against Grinnell College, the third seed, on Friday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. at Lake Forest.
Featured image: @picsby.fi
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