'Williamstown, MA- Williams College continues to be a thorn in the side of the Keene State men's soccer team. For the second straight season the Ephs pushed the Owls out of the NCAA tournament. Willams scored two goals in both halves to post a 4-0 shutout victory over the Owls on Saturday at Cole Field. KSC suffered the same fate last year, losing 2-0 in the regional finals.

An offensive minded Williams team was held at bay for the first 30 minutes of play, as Owl keeper Peter Kersker made six excellent saves. Kersker finished the game with 10 outstanding stops.

"Without Peter Kersker, the score could have been 10-0," said Keene State head coach Ron Butcher. "He played great for us."

At 30:03, senior Tommy Day scored an unassisted goal to get Williams on the scoreboard first. Day, given time and room from 35 yards out, sent a powerful shot inside the top right corner, just beyond Kersker's reach.

Just seven minutes after that, Sam Empson added another goal for Williams when he followed a Mike Darling shot and redirected the rebound into the back of the net. Kersker made the save on Darling's shot but was unable to retain possession of the ball, opening the door for Empson, who had crashed towards the goal in anticipation.

Williams outshot Keene St. 29-4 on the game and 14-3 in the 1st half.

The Owls (15-6-1) emerged from halftime playing with more intensity. However, in the 58th minute, Sam Empson halted any momentum Keene State had gained when senior Brett Olsen sent him the perfect pass right in front of the goal. Empson put the shot away for his second tally of the match.

Williams finished the scoring eight minutes later. From the left sideline, Mike Darling delivered a long pass to senior Matt Nolan at the top of the offensive box. Nolan sent a great shot past Kersker to give the Ephs  a 4-0 lead.

"We're very happy with how things went today," said Williams head coach Mike Russo. "We've been creating a lot of opportunities this season, but today we actually finished them. To score 4 goals against a great team like Keene St. is terrific for us."

Jeff Castiglione and Greg Walker combined for the two-save shutout. Neither team committed an offsides violation during the match.

"I thought we got outplayed in every facet of the game" said Butcher  "We've been limping through the season with injuries and were fortunate to get as far as we did.  "But a team like Williams exposes your weaknesses and we don't have the depth to match them off the bench.  "We now have to go out and recruit the type of players that can give us a chance to be successful against a team like that."

Williams advances to the Round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament. They will play the winner of the Messiah vs. Arcadia match next weekend.