Keene, Bowdoin Top Women's Soccer

Author: Kate Nerenberg

As the Middlebury women's soccer team completed the first half of their regular season, they improved their record to 3-2-1 despite dropping two of three games this past week. However, they proved that they can not only compete with, but also cause damage to some of the top teams in the region.
On Wednesday, the Panthers battled Keene State at home, trading goals in the first half, before losing 4-3. Just 2:08 into the game, the Owls managed to put the ball past goalkeeper Els Van Woert '05. The Panthers battled back as Britt Kittelsen '03 assisted a goal by Anna Gayman '03 at 29:13 to even the game up. Following a Keene State goal, Meg Bonney '03 again tied the game at two towards the end of the first half.
Leah Cumsky-Whitlock '03 was able to put Middlebury on top with a successful penalty kick before the Owls snuck in one more goal with under two minutes to play, going into halftime with a 3-3 score. Keene State again scored early in the next half, at 6:39 off a corner kick, taking the lead for good, holding the Panthers scoreless for the rest of the second session and handing them their first loss of the season. Van Woert ended the game with four saves in goal.
"Certainly, the strikers did as I asked and then some," Head Coach Diane Boettcher said in response to the wide distribution of goals. "Corner kick situations were the key to the Keene game and that is a two step accountability. The backs cannot give up corners easily, they must be better turning the ball upfield and against pressure. The goalkeeper must make her path to the ball and catch in the six-yard box."
Despite the loss, the Panthers took their scoring confidence and defensive lessons on the road to Maine to play Colby and Bowdoin. In the first of these games against Colby, Middlebury responded much differently to an early goal by their opponent. The White Mules, like Keene State, scored within the first 10 minutes of the game. However, the Panthers used their experience to go into halftime up, 2-1. In the last 15:02 of the first half, Bonney scored two goals putting her team on top.
The second half showcased the incredible flexibility and depth of the Panthers. Looking ahead to Sunday's game, Middlebury replaced many of the starters, who needed "enough playing time to build confidence without getting tired," according to Boettcher. The Panthers used a balanced attack and the advantage of a strong wind to seal their victory with two more goals. Kittlesen and Allison Bell '05 each had a goal in the second half and Gillian Menza '05 ended the game with two assists, as Middlebury walked away with a 4-1 victory. Van Woert made eight saves in goal and Jessica Larson '04 had two. The Panthers greatly out-shot Colby, 21-12.
"The Colby victory was a 22 Panther effort. The second half crew really schooled Colby," praised Boettcher. She wanted her team to use the Colby game to have "the confidence to open the throttle and score goals" against Bowdoin. However, the Polar Bears proved to be too resilient for the Panthers, who controlled the game for the first 30 minutes. Bowdoin was only able to score once in the first half, at 18:37. The Polar Bears, who remain undefeated and ranked number one in NESCAC play, ran the Panthers down in the second half, scoring twice, at the 50 and 70 minute marks.
Although Middlebury did not come away from the Bowdoin and Keene State games with victories, they certainly learned valuable lessons: "We now know that Bowdoin and Keene are the top two teams on our schedule, so the lessons of those games are the kind we will take into the tough games. The biggest improvement we shoot for is to cut the 'soft' goals per game to zero. Linking the backs and midfielders both on defense and in attacking support will be the critical part of our team play improvement this year," said Boettcher.
The Panthers will take their lessons with them when they travel to Colby-Sawyer on Tuesday and when they take on Amherst at home on Saturday. Amherst battled Bowdoin last Saturday, only to lose 3-0, making the Lord Jeff-Panther challenge an interesting one. Boettcher wants her team to "maintain the 'one game at a time' focus, yet dream deeper into the season" as post-season play rapidly approaches and every game counts.