HADLEY, Mass. - Spurred by an undefeated 9-0 conference mark, Williams College has earned the number-one seed for the first time since 2001 and a first round bye in the 2007 NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship. The Ephs will host the semifinals and championship match next weekend in Williamstown, Mass. First round action in this year's championship begins on Sunday at Tufts, Amherst and Bowdoin, with all games getting underway at 12:00 p.m. The 2007 NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship continues with the semifinals on Nov. 3 and concludes on Nov. 4 with the final at 12:00 p.m.

Top-seeded Williams (14-0, 9-0 NESCAC) secured the number-one seed in this year's championship last weekend with a 2-0 over Tufts and wrapped up the regular season on Saturday with a 2-1 victory over NESCAC rival Amherst to complete a perfect regular season. The first round bye guarantees the Ephs an appearance in the semifinals for the first time since 2004 after bowing out in the first round in each of the last two years. The Ephs have been getting it done at both ends of the field this fall, as they entered this weekend second in the NESCAC in scoring, increasing their goal-scoring total by roughly 75 percent over last season, while denying opponents defensively by allowing only three goals through 14 games and out-scoring opponents 19-2 over their last five contests. Williams' only NESCAC Women's Soccer title came in 2004 as the sixth-seeded team, having appeared in the final match three times over the seven-year history of the tournament.

Although second-seeded Tufts (11-3, 7-2 NESCAC) fell short of hosting the NESCAC championship for the second time in three years with the loss to Williams on Oct. 20, the Jumbos still managed to finish the regular season second among conference teams for the second-straight season. Tufts got off to a hot start this fall, going 9-1 over its first 10 games and matching the second-longest winning streak in program history with eight consecutive victories before falling to Trinity on Oct. 13. The Jumbos will have a familiar opponent in the first round on Sunday when they host the seventh-seeded Camels of Connecticut College (5-8-1, 2-6-1 NESCAC), after Tufts earned a 3-2 win at Connecticut College on Saturday. Connecticut College earned its first playoff berth since 2004 and third in tournament history by holding the head-to-head tie-breaker over Wesleyan (2-6-1 NESCAC) thanks to a 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Cardinals on Sept. 29. The Camels have played the role of spoiler in their two previous championship appearances, winning both games as the lower-seeded team to advance to the semifinals, while the Jumbos fell in overtime to a lower-seeded team during last year's first round. These two squads have only met once in championship history, as Tufts edged Connecticut College in double-overtime of the semifinals en route to the 2002 title, the lone NESCAC crown for the Jumbos.

Third-seeded Amherst (5-5-4, 5-2-2 NESCAC) knew well before Saturday's match at Williams that it would be hosting a first round game on Sunday, the only question remained was which NESCAC team it would be. The Jeffs will have the opportunity to extract a measure of revenge when they take on sixth-seeded Middlebury (8-4-2, 4-4-1 NESCAC), after the Panthers fell at Trinity 1-0 Saturday afternoon. Roughly one year ago the two teams met in the final of the NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship at Amherst with the Panthers scoring the only goal of the game in overtime to claim the 2006 NESCAC Women's Soccer Championship. During the lone meeting this season, the two clubs played to a scoreless tie in Amherst on Oct. 6. While Amherst had a rocky start to the 2007 campaign, the Jeffs have turned things around to close out the season, going 4-1-2 over their last seven outings. Middlebury has posted a 3-3-1 record over its last seven games, dropping three of its last five conference matches. This will be the third time the two teams have faced each other in playoff history, with each squad earning a victory. Amherst and Middlebury both have two NESCAC Women's Soccer titles as part of their legacies, Amherst in 2001 and 2003, and Middlebury in 2000 and the aforementioned 2006.

The final first round match-up will feature fourth-seeded Bowdoin (11-3-0, 6-3-0 NESCAC) hosting fifth-seeded Trinity (7-4-3, 5-3-1 NESCAC). While Bowdoin and Amherst tied in the NESCAC standings, Amherst earned the head-to-head tie-breaker over Bowdoin with a 3-1 win on Sept. 29. Both the Polar Bears and the Bantams picked up 1-0 wins in their respective regular season finales, as Bowdoin moved past Wesleyan and Trinity secured the fifth-seed with a win over Middlebury. These two teams met just over a week ago in Hartford with the Polar Bears coming up with a 1-0 victory. Bowdoin is in the midst of a five-game winning streak heading into Sunday's tilt, winning seven of its last eight games, while Trinity has gone 3-3-1 over its last seven outings. The Polar Bears missed out on the semifinals for the first time in tournament history last year, falling to eventual champion Middlebury 1-0, however they have never advanced to the championship game. The Bantams are making their fourth championship appearance and first since 2003, having never made it to the semifinals. Bowdoin won the lone meeting between these two teams in the first round of the 2002 tournament by a 1-0 score.

2007 NESCAC WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Sunday, October 28 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Connecticut College at No. 2 Tufts - 12:00 p.m.
No. 6 Middlebury at No. 3 Amherst - 12:00 p.m.
No. 5 Trinity at No. 4 Bowdoin - 12:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, November 3 at Williams
No. 1 Williams vs. lowest remaining seed - 11:00 a.m.
Remaining first round winners - 1:30 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, November 4 at Williams
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.