First-place Panthers upset by Bates in Homecoming game

Following its first loss of the season back on Oct. 2 to Colby, the Middlebury men’s soccer team has been on a roll. Leading up to Saturday’s NESCAC matchup against Bates, the team had reeled off four straight wins, outscoring opponents 6-1 and pushing its record to 11-1, 6-1 in conference, during the stint. Head coach Dave Saward gave a strong review of his team’s performance over the past three weeks.
“We played effectively over those four matches and had a number of good performances from several of players,” says Saward. “I felt that the key players in those four victories were Tim Cahill ’12, Harrison Watkins ’11, Otis Pitney ’12 and Carson Cornbrooks ’11. They all infuenced the team in a variety of ways, but collectively led us to three shutout victories and Otis scored two vital goals.” However, injuries are becoming a concern for a Panthers team that has already lost some key players.
“We have had some injuries, including an issue with Tyler Macnee [’12], Rob Cole [’13], Alex Colucci [’12] and Martin Drolet [’12,]” said Saward. “However, Willie Gevertz [’14] and Graham Knisley [’14], both first-year players, have stepped in and performed very well.”
Injuries may have played a part in Saturday’s loss against a Bates side that came into the game with a lowly 1-5-1 record in the NESCAC.
Saturday’s loss against Bates marked the first game in which the Panthers have failed to score a goal all season. The Bobcats needed only one free kick in the 38th minute to cement a 1-0 lead that ended up being the final. Bates forward John Murphy blasted a perfectly placed free kick into the top of the net past Middlebury keeper Tim Cahill ’12.
“The Bates game was challenging emotionally,” said Saward. “I actually think in the second half we played well, but soccer is all about putting the ball in the net, and we failed to capitalize on our chances. The one thing about soccer is that all the stats in the world mean very little unless you score.”
Middlebury outshot Bates 15-5 throughout the match, forcing the Bates keeper to make four saves. However, the one shot on target by Bates was the game clincher. When asked about this disappointing statistic, Coach Saward did not put the blame on starting goalie Cahill.
“Tim has won us a number of games this year including the Amherst and Conn College games, where he performed heroically,” said Saward. “My feeling is that the team let him down against Bates with their inability to put their chances away.” Nevertheless, Saward sees no reason to panic about his offense.
“We generated enough opportunities, and credit should go to the Bates keeper who made three or four outstanding saves,” said Saward. “If you look at the overall season goals scored vs. goals conceded, we are at perhaps our best ever difference. Thus, we keep doing what we have been doing.”
The Panthers travel to Williams tomorrow for a game that will determine the regular season NESCAC champion. The team, now ranked fifth in New England, remains first in the NESCAC despite the loss to the lowly Bates Bobcats; however, they must emerge from Williamstown with a positive result in order to maintain their standing. With a win, the team can secure home field advantage for the NESCAC tournament and push its regular season record to 12-2, a marked improvement over last season’s 7-4-2 regular season campaign.