Panthers rewrite record books with 7-0 start Men's soccer overcomes Maine's contingent, further extending shutout streak

Author: Tom McCann

Traditionally, the Middlebury men's soccer team buckles to Maine rivals Colby and Bowdoin. The Panthers broke from this last weekend sweeping, aside both the Mules and the Polar Bears in much the same fashion they have dismissed every other team so far this season. Both Colby and Bowdoin were sent home with their tails between their legs as neither could break down a Middlebury defense that at times looks nearly impenetrable.

Colby was first to feel the wrath of Coach Dave Saward's men, coming into the game 3-2 on the season. Last year, the Mules stopped Middlebury's win-streak at five, earning a 2-2 draw in their own backyard.

With a close game predicted, the first goal was bound to be crucial, and so it proved to be. Fortunately it fell the way of the Panthers who could not have wished for a better start to the contest. First-year Baer Fisher whipped in a cross that was dispatched by Brodie MacDearmid '07 after little more than 30 seconds.

Looking to capitalize on their early lead, the Panthers pushed forward, always looking to release MacDearmid or David LaRocca '08 who provided a constant threat with his pace and speed of the mark. The sophomore almost added a second goal after a well timed give-and-go sent him flying into the box, only to see the opportunity snuffed out before he could get a real shot off.

The lead did not stay at one for long. Seven minutes before the break, a corner from Jake Whitted '06 came loose in the penalty box and fellow senior Gabe Wood reacted fastest, stabbing the ball into the roof of the net and putting the Panthers firmly in control.

Colby needed to get an early goal in the second half, but just as they did in the first half, the Panthers took the game to their visitors. Just after the hour mark, Simon Perkins '06 found a way through the defense and but for a desperate lunge from a Colby defender, might well have added a third to the Panther tally. Unfortunately for the Mules, it was a crude tackle that resulted in a yellow card and one of the more obvious penalty decisions there will be this season. Captain Derek Cece '06 shouldered the responsibility and sent the keeper the wrong way, burying the first penalty of his career.

The rout was completed when junior Vandy Shanholt fired a fourth for the Panthers with still more than 15 minutes on the clock. There was still time for LaRocca to run from the halfway line, surge down the left flank, cut inside and very nearly add a fifth goal, only to be denied by another piece of good defending. In truth, there was only one team in the contest, and Middlebury ran out 4-0 winners on a day in which Zach Toth '07 collected his fifth shutout in six games, making just the one save in 90 minutes of action.

With confidence flying, Middlebury welcomed Bowdoin the following day in a game billed as one of the season's biggest. The teams last met in the NESCAC semi-final, when the Panthers emerged 2-0 victors, and Coach Saward's men certainly hoped for a similar result.

With Middlebury playing in their change strip of blue, fans had to convince their brains to cheer against the all-white-wearing Bowdoin Polar Bears. However, it made little difference to the men on the field, who got another crucial lightening-fast start.

A goal-mouth scramble led to the opening goal from Fisher after just over three minutes as the ball rebounded to him off the post from an earlier effort. There was bedlam on the sidelines as it became clear that another solid defensive performance would be good enough for an unprecedented seventh straight win to open the season. Eighty four minutes remained, however.

Far from looking to hold on to an early lead, the Panthers continued to take the game to the Polar Bears, looking to add to their success. In the 39th minute they succeeded when Nathan Lovitz, the Bowdoin keeper fumbled a corner from Whitted. Once again, Wood was on hand to capitalize on the opportunity, grabbing his second goal of the weekend and the second of the game for Middlebury.

The first half came to an end with the Panthers leading 2-0, and but for one shot that cannoned off the post from a tight angle, Bowdoin had hardly been given a look-in at the Middlebury end.

The Polar Bears, entering the game 6-1, never looked like getting back in the game and were effectively neutralized by the phenomenal Middlebury defense. A third goal was always going to end the game as a contest, and Captain Cece duly obliged with his second goal in as many days.

As Whitted prepared to whip in another corner, Coach Saward could be heard shouting, "Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" while Cece made his run from deep. Meeting his legendary status in the Middlebury soccer program, Saward's advice led to Cece rising to head home a third goal for the Panthers, effectively sealing a historic win for his men.

Toth and his backline continued to repel any and all attempts from Bowdoin, securing an incredible sixth consecutive shutout from their seven games so far. One must go back to the 73rd minute of the Panthers' season opener against Connecticut College to find the last (and only) time that Middlebury gave up a goal. The shutout against Bowdoin extended the goalless streak to just over 557 minutes - a remarkable achievement for a soccer team at any level of competition.

The inevitable question arises: Who next? The answer is Amherst, another team that is meant to provide a serious challenge to the Panthers. Last season, Middlebury snatched a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory courtesy of LaRocca's first goal in a Middlebury uniform, a bicycle kick no less, despite trailing 0-2 late in the second half. If current form is anything to go by however, Middlebury need not fear their Massachusetts rivals and in fact, need not fear anyone whatsoever.