CECINA, ITALY -- The setting for the Ephs' second game in Italy was idyllic, in the Tuscany region near Pisa, Italy, but the competition was even better and Williams fell to Cecina 4-1 and is now 1-2 on their European trip.

Russo knew full well that his Ephs would be up against a talented team in this contest and he was not disappointed. "Cecina had five players on loan from Serie A Teams Florence (3) and Juventus (2)," said Russo. "The five players were from the Serie A second teams and they were very, very good."

The Ephs went down 1-0 for the third straight game when Cecina scored 15 minutes in on a howler from outside the box that found the upper right corner. "Our goalie Andrew Graham had no chance on that shot."

An Eph miscue in the back 20 minutes later gave Cecina an opportunity they would not squander and the hosts doubled their lead to 2-0.

Senior Mike Darling converted off a pass from junior Sam Empson just before the half ended making the score 2-1 at the break.

"In the second half their fitness level took over and they netted two more goals to close out the game at 4-1," noted Russo. "Despite the score there were a lot of positives and one was how quickly we answered their second goal and made it a game."

On Friday the Ephs will travel to San Marino to play another Division 1 team – Verucchio.