20 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(03/19/15 3:12am)
Middlebury skied its way to an eighth place finish at the NCAA Championships last weekend. Middlebury posted their best result since 2009, highlighted by a team win in the men’s giant slalom and Rob Cone’s ’17 national championship in the same event. Cone, Christopher McKenna ’17 and Mary Sackbauer ’15 all recorded All-American finishes on the weekend.
The nordic events took place on the first day of action on Wednesday, March 11 with the skate events at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. In the women’s 5K skate, the western schools swept the top-10 spots, and Kelsey Phinney ’16 was the first Panther across the line in 15:35, 70 seconds behind the winner, good for 20th. Stella Holt ’15 was next for the Panthers in 34th, coming in with a time of 15:56. Heather Mooney ’15 was behind her in 39th, with a time of 16:10. Overall, the women came in 10th in the event with 11 points. Utah won the race with 91 points, followed by Colorado and New Mexico.
In the men’s 10K skate, the lone Panther Patrick McElravey ’17 finished 27th in 27:16, two minutes back of the winner. A mix of eastern and western skiers finished among the leaders, with Colorado, Dartmouth and Vermont taking the top three places.
On Thursday, Whiteface played host to the giant slalom events. The women placed eighth in the team event after Sackbauer placed 12th with a time of 2:26.75. She finished four seconds behind the winner from New Mexico. Elle Gilbert ’16 was 17th after clocking a time of 2:27.54. Katelyn Barclay ’15 fell during her second run and was disqualified.
On the men’s side, McKenna and Cone turned in nearly identical first run times to sit in fifth and fourth, respectively. Cone then won the second run, and McKenna turned in the third fastest time to leap up the podium to finish first and third, both claiming First Team All-American honors. Riley Plant ’18 fell on the first run as he neared the finish line. The team won by six points over Denver, who had racers in second and fourth but, like Middlebury, had their third racer fall on his first run.
“The program has really been building and we have a great group of GS guys. We’ve got them for a couple more years,” Cone said after the race.
Friday saw the nordic teams return to the competition for the classic races. On the men’s side, McElravey fared slightly better, finishing 23rd with a time of 59:04 in the 20K classic. The western schools swept the top-eight individual spots, and Colorado, New Mexico and Dartmouth took the top-three team spots.
The women’s team finished tied for fourth place in the 15K classic race. They tied Vermont to finish behind Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. Phinney led the Panthers with a time of 49:39, two minutes behind the winners, but just five seconds out of the top 10 as she finished 11th.
“I skied with the leaders for the first of three laps during Friday’s race,” Phinney said. “While I was upset that my fall in the last 1km left me one spot out of the top 10, I’m happy to know that I can ski with the best women in the country.”
Mooney and Holt, who had both been battling sickness all week, improved on their first outing. Mooney, who won the classic title on the EISA circuit, finished 16th with a time of 49:49. Holt grabbed a point for the team in 30th place with a time of 52:32.
“I think we did a great job of keeping the morale high,” Phinney said. “Heather and Stella are incredible athletes, teammates, and competitors, and they showed that with the way they raced in the face of being sick.”
On Saturday, the championships concluded with the slalom events at Whiteface. Sackbauer again led the women with a ninth place finish that earned her Second Team All-American honors. She sat tied for 13th after finishing the first run in one minute flat. Her impressive second run moved her into the top 10 with a time of 1:58.74. Teammates Barclay and Gilbert came in 23rd and 25th, respectively, with consistent runs. Barclay had a combined time of 2:02.25 and Gilbert took 2:03.07 to finish both runs. Overall, the women took seventh in the event.
Cone led the men in the slalom, placing 10th with a time of 1:58.22 after sliding down from a fifth-place first run. Plant turned in a solid second run to move up to 24th overall with a time of 2:01.76, while McKenna had to hike after missing a gate in his first run. He turned in a solid second run but finished the event 30th in 2:23.99. The men matched the women and placed eighth in the event.
The eighth place overall finish by the combined teams placed them third amongst teams from the east, and first among teams comprised only of Americans. Colorado won the championship for the 20th time, edging out Denver and Utah who finished second and third. UVM was the top eastern school in fourth, while Dartmouth finished sixth.
The high NCAA finish rounds out a strong year for the teams overall. The women’s nordic team, despite having several key racers fall ill late in the season, scored more overall points this year than in any previous season. On the slopes, the men’s overall championship in giant slalom marks the third event championship for the men’s Alpine squad in the past four years.
(03/05/15 1:05am)
The ski teams finished the EISA carnival circuit this past weekend, Friday-Saturday, Feb. 27-28, at the St. Lawrence carnival in the Lake Placid, N.Y. area, which served as the EISA championship. The alpine teams in the carnival competed competed at Whiteface while the nordic teams raced at Mt. Van Hoevenberg. Middlebury’s alpine and nordic teams took fourth place behind undefeated Vermont, second-place Dartmouth, and UNH in third.
On Friday, Heather Mooney ’15 won the 5K skate race for the women’s nordic team, coming in 16 seconds ahead of the freestyle leader Annika Taylor of UNH. Stella Holt ’15 was just over a minute back, in 12th place, while Kelsey Phinney ’16 finished a further seven seconds back in 20th place. The three women combined to win third place in the event. Saturday saw the same three women win the classic race. Mooney, the classic leader on the season, came in second behind UNH’s Taylor. Phinney was 24 seconds behind Mooney in third, and Holt came in 11th to give the Panthers the win.
The men took ninth on Friday in the skate races. Adam Luban ’17 led the Panthers in 28th place. Patrick McElravey ’17 came in 35th place and Jacob Volt ’18 took 40th. Dartmouth and UVM combined to take the first eight spots in the race. The following day, the men fared slightly better as McElravey, who came in 12th place, led Middlebury to an eighth place finish. McElravey finished four minutes behind the leaders, and was only the second finisher not from UVM or Dartmouth. Luban finished four minutes behind McElravey in 34th, and Jack Steele ’16 was another 30 seconds back in 40th.
At Whiteface on Friday, the Panther men took second in the giant slalom by packing three finishers in the top 10 despite GS leader Rob Cone ’17 not finishing his second run. Riley Plant ’18 led the way for the Panthers, taking fifth after a stellar second run, just two seconds off the pace. Christopher McKenna ’17 was .5 seconds behind Plant in sixth place, while Ghassan Gedeon Achi ’16 took eighth, just .05 seconds behind McKenna. In slalom, Colin Hayes’ 17 led the team to fourth place, winning the ninth-place spot himself ahead of McKenna in 15th and Christoph Niederhauser ’16 who took a close 16th place.
On the women’s side, Kara Shaw ’15 and Elle Gilbert ’16 placed ninth and tenth in giant slalom, leading the Panthers to a fourth place finish. Shaw was just 2.5 seconds behind the leader, and Gilbert only a quarter of a second behind that. Katelyn Barclay ’15 finished another two seconds back in 20th to round out the squad.
On Saturday, the women again placed fourth, racking up the same number of points as Mary Sackbauer ’15 took ninth place with a combined time of 1:56.47. Sackbauer led her teammate, Barclay, who placed 13th, by one second. Gilbert finished another half second back in 19th.
Two weeks from now, Middlebury will send the individuals who have qualified to represent the east at the NCAA championships back to Lake Placid for the last race of the season.
(02/19/15 12:44am)
At the annual winter carnival, the ski teams put together a strong showing to finish third (783) behind carnival winners UVM (931) and runners up Dartmouth (788). Middlebury missed out on second place by only 5 points and beat fourth place UNH by 10 points in a crowded field.
The weekend races included Heather Mooney ’15 leading the women’s nordic team to team and individual wins in the 10K classic and the alpine women winning their first event of the season in the giant slalom on Saturday, February 14th.
In the alpine races at the Snow Bowl, the women placed fifth in slalom on Friday, February 13th. Mary Sackbauer ’15 led the team with a sixth place time of 1:42.99, followed by Katy Greene ’17 (1:46.43) in 16th and Elle Gilbert ’16 (1:46.51) in 19th.
The women fared much better on Saturday. Katelyn Barclay ’15 led a group of three Middlebury skiers in the top five with a third place time of 2:13.14. Her teammates Sackbauer (2:13.88) and Gilbert (2:14.00) came in directly behind her, leading to the Panther win. Barclay finished over two seconds behind the event winner. The three women were in second, third and fourth place after the first run, but a strong second run by Dartmouth’s Foreste Peterson pushed her into second ahead of the consistent Panther women.
In the men’s races on Friday, the team skied to a third place finish behind UVM and UNH. They also turned in their highest point total in a slalom event this season. Rob Cone ’17 (1:31.37), Colin Hayes ’17 (1:33.00) and Christopher McKenna ’17 (1:33.08) all scored for the Panthers, who finished with 109 points in the event. Cone sat in second place after the first run and turned in a third-best time on the second run. UNH’s Coley Oliver managed to jump Cone for the win by half a second after a blistering second run. Hayes, who sat in 26th after the first run challenged Oliver’s winning second run, coming in second only two tenths of a second back, launching him into the top ten. Middlebury’s McKenna placed 12th.
In the giant slalom on Saturday, Cone led after the first run then slipped back into third overall with a time of 2:09.60, a second behind the winner. Teammates McKenna and Riley Plant ’18 completed the strong overall showing with fifth and sixth place finishes of 2:09.71 and 2:09.86, respectively. Middlebury lost the GS event to UVM by a single point.
In the nordic events, the women continued the dominant momentum that they have established throughout the season. In the classic events on Friday, Mooney won the women’s 10K by 10 seconds with a time of 31:01.2. Stella Holt ’15 came in sixth (32:06.1) and Nicolette Amber ’16 finished 14th (33:26.4). It was Mooney’s third straight win, and Holt’s third top 10 of the season in classic events. The women won the event by ten points over second place Bates.
“There is definitely a home course advantage for both nordic and alpine races,” Holt said. “On the nordic side we are able to train every day on the exact same course we race on for our home carnival.”
On Saturday in the skate race, Middlebury placed third behind UVM and UNH. Mooney placed second on the day, finishing the 5K in 16:11.2, three seconds back. Holt took 15th with a time of 17:13.9, and Amber took 19th in 17:20.7.
The men placed sixth on Friday in the classic races, and seventh on Saturday in the skate. Patrick McElravey ’17 led the team with a 13th place finish in 27:10.7. Adam Luban ’17 came in 17th with a time of 27:32.3, and Evan Weinman ’18 (27:52) placed 25th. On Saturday, McElravey slid into the top ten with a seventh place 26:20.1. Luban finished tied for 23rd with a time of 27:12.8, and Jacob Volz ’18 came in in 29:30.6, good for 50th place.
Holt looked forward to the last carnival, saying, “We know we are capable of winning a day and even a weekend as a women’s team as we have done it on multiple occasions throughout this season.”
Next week, the ski teams are off, but head up to the St. Lawrence carnival in Lake Placid, NY for the EISA championships the week after. The carnival serves as the penultimate race before the NCAA championships, which will also be hosted by St. Lawrence.
(02/11/15 10:18pm)
The ski teams participated in three carnivals surrounding the February break, taking fourth at all three. UVM hosted a carnival at Stowe on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 23 and 24, followed by the St. Michael’s Carnival the following weekend. The teams then traveled to Dartmouth on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6 and 7.
At the UVM carnival, the men’s nordic team began the weekend with in the 10K skate race with a seventh place finish. Patrick McElravey ’17 placed 15th in the race after posting a time of 26:24.2. His teammates Adam Luban ’17 and Jacob Voltz ’18 placed 19th and 51st with times of 26:42.2 and 28:03.2, respectively. The next day, the men took sixth in the 15K classic race. McElravey paced the team with his first top 10 of the season, taking eighth after completing the course in 42:31.3, 55 seconds off the winning time. Voltz came in 30th while Evan Weinman ’18 came in 31st with a time of 44:27.2, three seconds behind his teammate.
The women’s nordic team fared better. Friday’s 5K skate saw the team put all three racers in the top 10, lead by Heather Mooney ’15 who placed third with a time of 14:35.3, 25 seconds off the pace. Kelsey Phinney ’16 placed ninth in the race in 14:48.4, nine seconds ahead of Stella Holt ’15 in 10th. Despite these individual performances, UVM and UNH were both able to best the women in the race, leading to a third place finish for the Panthers. On Saturday in their 10K classic race, the women again placed third, with Mooney coming in at 33:31.5, 55 seconds behind the winner for fourth place. Phinney came in 7 seconds behind Mooney in seventh place. Holt finished another minute back in 18th place.
On the alpine side of the carnival, the women improved on last weekend’s result to place fifth in the GS race. Mary Sackbauer ’15 again led the team with a 10th place finish of 2:15.53. Elle Gilbert ’16 and Katelyn Barclay ’15 also scored for the Panthers in 12th and 16th, respectively.
“As a whole our girls team had a strong finish,” Sackbauer said of the GS showing. “That was the first time in my four years that all six girls were in the top 30.”
On Saturday, the women took sixth in Slalom. Sackbauer again finished first for Midd, taking 10th with a combined time of 2:00.02. Barclay took 20th, 8 seconds behind Sackbauer, and Yina Moe-Lange ’15 took 22nd, another second behind.
The men’s team fared well in the GS competition, finishing second, the leading the Panthers with the highest place finish. On Saturday, Rob Cone ’17 won his second straight GS race. On each run, he placed second and his consistency earned him the top time, 2:08.12, 0.59 seconds clear at the top. Christopher McKenna ’17 placed 12th with a time of 2:10.61, and Ghassan Gedeon-Achi ’16 placed 15th, finishing with a combined time of 2:10.86.
In slalom, UVM swept the top four spots after Cone was disqualified for missing a gate on the second run. Middlebury posted a fourth place finish led by McKenna (1:54.12) in 15th, and the duo of Jack Schibli ’18 (1:55.62) and Christoph Niederhauser ’16 (1:56.07) who came in 20th and 21st, both scoring their first points of the season for the Panthers.
At the St. Michael’s carnival on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31, the fourth place showing was highlighted on the nordic side by a Panther win in the women’s 5K classic race, and a second place showing in the mixed 4x3K skate relay. In the relay, the two teams of four combined to take second, but Holt, Luban, Mooney, and McElravey crossed the line first by 11 seconds. Mooney also won the individual 5K classic race, with Holt and Phinney in the top 10.
On the alpine side, Barclay, Sackbauer, Kara Shaw ’15, and Moe-Lange all put in top 15 finishes for the panthers for a fourth place finish in GS. Cone again led the men’s GS squad, finishing a half second clear at the top, with McKenna in sixth and Devon Cardamone ’18 in 35th for a third place team showing.
The women also placed fourth in slalom with Sackbauer in 9th, Barclay in 16th, and Gilbert in 21st. The men suffered a sixth place showing in Slalom: Cone placed third and McKenna 15th, but no other panther finished both runs.
The Dartmouth carnival saw another fourth place finish, the third consecutive carnival with UVM, Dartmouth, UNH and Middlebury in the same order. For the first time on the carnival circuit this season, Cone did not win the giant slalom race, coming in second by 0.19 seconds. McKenna (sixth) and Gedeon-Achi (10th) turned in two top 10 times to see the team to a second place finish in the event. The women again put four racers, in the top 15 for a fourth place finish in GS. Gilbert, Shaw and Sackbauer scored for the panthers, placing 11th, 12th and 14th, respectively.
On the nordic side, Mooney led the women both days, winning the classic sprint on Friday. Phinney placed fourth while Nicolette Amber ’16 was 14th. Mooney followed her win with a second place finish in the 10K with a time of 30:51, with Phinney in seventh and Amber in 23rd.
McElravey paced the men with a seventh-place finish in the sprint race. On Saturday, McElravey brought the Panthers home in the 10K with a 20th-place finish in 27:43. Luban followed in 23rd (27:55), while Volz rounded out the scoring.
All teams return to compete on home turf on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14, at the Middlebury Carnival.
(01/21/15 2:57pm)
The ski teams combined to finish third at the season-opening Bates carnival over the weekend behind winner UVM and runner up Dartmouth. On Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16 and 17, the alpine teams raced at Sunday River, while the nordic teams competed at Black Mountain.
In the men’s giant slalom competition on Friday, Rob Cone ’17, fresh off a stint on the US national team, won the day with Christopher McKenna ’17 a second behind in third place. Ghassan Gedeon-Achi ’16 finished 13th to complete the men’s GS victory for Middlebury. Cone won the first run by .4 seconds over McKenna, who himself was .75 seconds clear of the next finisher. On the second run, Cone placed third to win the race overall, and McKenna finished 13th, 1.5 seconds back of the run winner, William St-Germain of UVM who edged him for second place overall.
“I was excited for the conditions throughout the weekend,” Cone said. “Although temperatures were low or negative, they allowed a great hard, icy snow surface, which all of us enjoy…Otherwise, the sun was up, I kept it simple, skied how I knew I could, and had fun.”
The women’s alpine team tied with host Bates for fifth in GS, led by Mary Sackbauer ’15 who finished 11th. Kara Shaw ’15 and Elle Gilbert ’16 finished 24th and 25th, respectively. In Slalom on Saturday, Sackbauer notched a top 10 finish, placing 9th with a combined time of 1:51.20. Shaw placed 18th (1:52.68) and Gilbert 22nd (1:53.66). This performance again gave the women 74 points on the day, good for a 6th place finish in Slalom and overall.
The men placed second in their slalom race. Cone again paced the team, making up a large chunk of time on his second run to come in second place, 0.03 seconds back. McKenna came in 12th place, and Colin Hayes ’17 came in 18th.
On Saturday, the nordic teams competed in their classic races. In the women’s 15K classic, Heather Mooney ’15 finished strong to win the race with a time of 49:33.7, five seconds clear at the top. Kelsey Phinney ’16 finished 9th (50:02.7), with Stella Holt ’15 rounding out the top 10 with a time of 50:11.3. Middlebury, however, lost out to UVM, and finished second.
The men finished 7th in their 20K classic race on Saturday, with the three scoring members of the Panther squad coming in close to each other. Patrick McElravey ’17 came in 27th with a time of 1:02:42.6, Adam Luban ’17 (1:02:48.1) came 28th, and Evan Weinman ’18 (1:02:50.3) came 30th.
On Saturday, the women skied a 5K skate race. Middlebury won the event, and all three racers placed in the top 10 for the second consecutive day. Mooney again won the race in 13:52.
“Historically I’m a better classic skier, so it was huge for me to win in the skate race too,” Mooney said. “It was a great weekend for the women’s team especially. One of our goals was to win a carnival weekend, and we did that, in the first one!”
Mooney was not alone in her success. Middlebury was able to dominate the skate race, with Phinney coming in 5th, 30 seconds behind Mooney, and Holt coming in 10th, 52 seconds back. The Panther women won the skate race overall, and edged UVM and Dartmouth over both days.
The men also improved in the skate race, finishing fifth. Luban lead the team with his first top 10, finishing 9th with a time of 24:55.4, 1:38 behind the winner. McElravey finished 14th in 25:13.2. Jack Steele ’16 came in 30th with a time of 26:21:8.
“It’s always a relief getting the first weekend out of the way, knowing where we all stand, and in this case, we’re stacking up very well in the east,” Mooney said.
Next weekend, the EISA carnival circuit heads north to UVM for their winter carnival with races to be held at Stowe.
Cone is excited for the week to come.
“We have a great group of athletes that are pushing each other and building strength every day of training at the Snow Bowl,” he said. “This week, we’ll continue with our preparations as we look forward to Stowe.”
(12/03/14 9:58pm)
Nordic captains: Stella Holt ’15 & Heather Mooney ’15
Alpine captains: James Clifford ’15 (men) Mary Sackbauer ’15 (women)
The nordic ski teams spent Thanksgiving break at training camp in Quebec. Stella Holt ’15 and Heather Mooney ’15 were the only nordic team members to compete at last year’s national race where they helped the combined teams place 12th. All-American Ben Lustgarten ’14 was unable to race last year and has since graduated, leaving behind a young nordic team. The nordic team competed in a time trial against other schools in the east, and Holt commented, “[Mooney] won the women’s race by 12 seconds over a strong field of UVM and other EISA skiers. After skiing with her for part of the race, I can say she is looking incredibly strong going into this season and that this likely won’t be the last time we see her toward the top of the results this winter.” Kelsey Phinney ’16 finished 6th in that time trial and Holt finished 10th. On the men’s side, Patrick McElravey ’17 and Adam Luban ’17 finished 10th and 12th in the time trial.
The alpine team spent their Thanksgiving vacation in Colorado — “one of the most successful and fun camps that Middlebury has ever had,” according to captain Mary Sackbauer ’15. The Panthers return key racers in Yina Moe-Lange ’15, the lone Panther woman at nationals last year; Christopher McKenna ’17, who competed on the men’s side at nationals, and Rob Cone ’17, who has spent the last few years with the U.S. team. The men’s team graduated Hig Roberts ’14 and Nick Bailey ’14, also national racers, but looks to come back to the success they have had in recent years. Last year marked the end of a two-year winning streak in men’s slalom. The teams start the eastern carnival circuit on Jan. 16 with the Bates carnival.
“We have serious potential to be a major threat on the circuit and hopefully win a carnival,” Sackbauer said.
The season includes the Middlebury carnival on Feb. 13, the EISA championships the following weekend at St. Lawrence, and the NCAA champions in Lake Placid.
(11/13/14 12:36am)
The men’s soccer team traveled to Amherst, Mass. last weekend to compete in the final rounds of the NESCAC championships. In the semifinal matchup on Saturday, Nov. 8, Middlebury, coming off of a 5-4 victory in penalties over Wesleyan, faced the sixth-seeded Bowdoin, who had defeated the third-seeded Williams team in the quarterfinals the previous weekend. Bowdoin edged Middlebury in a shootout after 110 minutes of scoreless soccer.
In the semifinal, Middlebury found possession early and began to generate chances in the offensive end of the field. Early opportunities included a corner kick from Phil Skayne ’17, a blocked shot struck by forward Adam Glaser ’17 and a shot on goal from Greg Conrad ’17, all within the first five minutes of regulation play.
Bowdoin’s first chance came on a tight cross across the face of goal in the 11th minute. Throughout the remainder of the first half Middlebury continued to posses the ball and generate goal-scoring opportunities. Their chances included a close free kick in the 14th minute, a high Conrad shot in the 24th off of a throw in, and a strong volley from Harper Williams ’15 from the top of the penalty area.
Overall, goal-scoring opportunities for both sides were sparse in this game, with Greg Sydor ’17 turning away the only two Bowdoin shots on goal, and Middlebury registering only four shots on goal in the contest. Bowdoin led 6-3 on corner kicks, while the Panthers held a 13-10 advantage in shots. Despite the relatively low number of offensive opportunities throughout the match, each side managed to produce a few chances in the second half. Middlebury’s most promising attempt at finding the back of the net came as time expired in the second half, when Glaser sent a shot wide in a last ditch attempt to get the Panthers on the board before the added time.
In the extra periods, Bowdoin had a chance to win the game in the first minute of overtime. A Bowdoin attacker blasted a shot from a tight angle on the Middlebury end line that hit the top of the crossbar and sailed out of bounds.
Williams almost put a winner away for the Panthers in the third minute off of a long feed that went over the Bowdoin keeper, and Glaser was dispossessed while streaking towards the goal in the ninth minute.
Middlebury certainly had the upper hand in the second overtime, where they registered two of their four shots on goal. Conrad’s shot in the opening minute was saved. Tim Ogle ’17 put a throw-in onto the head of Tom Dils ’17 at the back post that nearly went in, but the Bowdoin goaltender Stevie Van Siclen made a point blank save to keep the score even.
In a repeat of last week’s result against Wesleyan in the conference quarterfinals, Middlebury would rest their hopes of advancing in the NESCAC Tournament on a penalty shootout. Kirk Horton ’17, who put home the final Middlebury penalty shot last week, stepped up first and had his low, hard shot to his left turned away by Bowdoin goaltender Van Siclen.
Sydor managed to get a hand on the first Bowdoin attempt, but the shot maintained its momentum enough to find the back of the net to put the Polar Bears up 1-0.
Tom Bean ’17 shot second again, and replicated his high left shot that got the Panthers on the board against Wesleyan, but was unable to get the on-target shot past Bowdoin. Sydor saved the second Bowdoin chance, and Noah Goss-Woliner ’15 put away his shot down the middle to level the score at 1-1.
Bowdoin climbed into the lead after they capitalized on their third shot and Glaser had his shot saved.
Sydor made his second penalty save of the day on Bowdoin’s fourth shot as he dove to the left, and Deklan Robinson ’16 casually pushed home the final Middlebury penalty in a must-make situation to keep the Panthers in the game.
With the score level at 2-2 in the shootout, Sydor guessed correctly, flinging himself toward his right and getting a hand on the Bowdoin shot.
However, this was only enough to send the ball into the post and back into the goal as Bowdoin won the shootout 3-2 and went through to the final to face Amherst, who beat Conn. College 3-2 in the following game.
“We’re definitely disappointed by the result,” Robinson said. “Penalty kicks are a tough way to decide a game and so much comes down to chance.”
The Panthers ended their season with a 9-3-5 record. Additionally, many individuals from the squad landed at or near the top of the NESCAC individual statistics. Sydor leads the league with a save percentage of .845, and sits second in the league for total saves, with 60. Sydor has also recorded eight shutouts this season, allowing 0.61 goals-against per game.
Conrad finished the season tied for first in points with 22 (8 goals, 6 assists), and teammate Glaser was a close third with 21 points (8 goals, 5 assists).
In the final on Sunday, Bowdoin dethroned three-time defending champion Amherst 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 draw through regulation and two overtime periods.
Bowdoin will receive the NESCAC’s only automatic bid to the NCAA postseason after finishing sixth in the regular season.
“It’s too bad, but it’s been a great year and we’re really going to miss the seniors,” Robinson said, reflecting on the Panthers’ season.
The team looks forward to another successful season next fall, fueled by the return of many players who contributed to this season’s sucess. The offensive duo of Conrad and Glaser will surely rank near the top of the NESCAC in the upcoming season and Sydor returns to anchor the Panther defense through his outstanding goaltending.
(11/05/14 6:53pm)
The men’s soccer team finished their regular season with a 2-0 win over Plymouth State on Wednesday, Oct. 29. On Saturday, Nov. 1, they hosted Wesleyan in the NESCAC quarterfinals and won 5-4 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 1-1 in double overtime.
On Wednesday, the team traveled to New Hampshire to take on Plymouth State in their final game. Noah Goss-Woliner ’15 and Adam Glaser ’17 connected twice as each scored in the 2-0 win. In the 16th minute, a cross from Goss-Woliner from the right found Glaser, who put away his eighth goal of the season to take the lead. Middlebury went unchallenged in the first half, holding a 9-0 shots advantage. In the 80th minute, Glaser assisted Goss-Woliner’s third goal of the season as the Panthers put the game out of reach. Greg Sydor ’17 recorded another shutout in goal when he saved Plymouth State’s lone shot on goal in the second half.
On Saturday, the team played host to Wesleyan for the second time in as many weeks. Last week, they secured a home playoff game with a 3-1 win. After the rest of the NESCAC teams finished their seasons on Wednesday, the Panthers were ranked fourth, and as such played host to the fifth seeded Cardinals. As with the previous matchup, the score remained 0-0 throughout the entire first half thanks to key Middlebury defensive efforts.
Wesleyan continued to control the game into halftime and during the second half. They were more accurate with their shots through the game, putting nine shots on goal to Middlebury’s three. Wesleyan managed to break through in the 54th minute when they controlled the ball in the penalty area and Chris Kafina put a low shot into the bottom right corner. For the next thirty minutes, Wesleyan looked poised to go onto the semifinals, but Middlebury kept getting the ball forward late as Tim Ogle ’17 and Tom Dils ’17 came on to help offensively. The Panther breakthrough came in the 86th minute as Goss-Woliner controlled a clearance after a Middlebury free kick. He shot the ball from about 25 yards out on the right side, and the Wesleyan keeper looked poised to make the save. The ball squirted out from between the keeper’s legs onto the foot of Tom Bean ’17. Bean put home his second goal of the season to level the score with only minutes remaining in regulation.
In the overtime periods, both sides had a few opportunities to take the game, but neither team gained the advantage. In the end, the score remained 1-1 after twenty minutes and the game was to be decided through a penalty shootout.
“We had some sloppy play for parts of yesterday and Wesleyan capitalized on one of those lapses in concentration,” Bean said. “We have to keep our focus the entire game come Saturday because Bowdoin is a very good squad and are capable of capitalizing on slip ups as well.”
Middlebury would kick first in the shootout, with Goss-Woliner as the first of the five Panther shooters. His shot was low and hard to his left, but Wesleyan keeper Emmett McConnell guessed correctly and pushed his shot wide to give his side the early edge. Wesleyan kept their advantage as the shootout continued. Bean put home the first Panther penalty with a hard shot off the ground, followed by Greg Conrad ’17, who made the keeper miss then shot the ball down the middle and Glaser who also put home his attempt. Wesleyan executed their attempts in the shootout, prompting Deklan Robinson ’16 to step up as the final Middlebury shooter, needing to make his penalty to keep the Panther’s hopes alive. He fired his shot past McConnell to put the pressure on the final kick. Sydor guessed correctly on the last Wesleyan shot, dove to his left, and pushed the attempt back out to level the score to 4-4 and send the shootout to sudden death. Kirk Horton ’17, the sixth Panther shooter, didn’t give McConnell a chance as he put his shot in the upper left. On the ensuing Wesleyan shot, Adam Cowie-Haskell went low and right, and Sydor saved his second straight penalty to send the Panthers through to the semifinals.
“It’s an emotional hurricane for both teams that churns out heroes and villains,” Bean said. “Fortunately Sydor rose up and became the hero we needed, giving all of us the opportunity to fight another day.”
In the other NESCAC quarterfinals, Conn. College beat top-seeded Tufts in Medford, Ma. 2-1, Bowdoin beat third seeded Williams, and Amherst beat Colby 1-0. Amherst was seeded second coming into the tournament and will host both semifinals next Saturday, and the final the next day. Middlebury will play the sixth seeded Bowdoin on Saturday.
Amherst has now hosted three of the last four championships and will look to take their fourth straight title next week. Middlebury last won in 2010 when they beat Bowdoin on penalty kicks. The winner of the final next Saturday will secure the only automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, with the other NESCAC schools looking for an at-large bid.
(10/30/14 4:20am)
The men’s soccer team (8-3-3, 5-2-3) came from behind with a hat trick from Greg Conrad ’17 to beat Wesleyan and secure hope for a playoff berth in the NESCAC tournament after a midweek, non-conference defeat at Castleton.
On Tuesday, Oct. 21, Middlebury traveled to Castleton to face the Spartans and fell behind early. In the seventh minute, Castleton put a header past Greg Sydor ’17 off of a cross. Middlebury fought back but were unable to find an equalizer. Adam Glaser ’17 fired Middlebury’s best first half chance wide in the 22nd minute, and in the second half, the Panthers peppered the frame with shots, but were either off target or denied by Spartan keeper Amir Pasic.
In the contest, Middlebury led 15-5 in shots and 7-1 in corner kicks, but only were able to generate four shots on goal throughout the game. The loss was the first time in nonconference play that the Panthers failed to win as they fell to 7-3-3 on the season.
On Saturday, Oct. 25, Middlebury played host to Wesleyan, who were tied with the Panthers on points in the NESCAC but had played one fewer game. Wesleyan came out firing, and nearly put the Panthers in a big hole early, but couldn’t find the net thanks to saves from Sydor and the goalposts.
In the third minute, Sydor saved a point-blank strike; in the sixth minute, the Middlebury defense cleared a good Wesleyan cross; and a Cardinal shot in the seventh minute went off the crossbar. Despite giving up the opening opportunities, Middlebury found their rhythm in the 13th minute with a long possession that culminated in a shot from Conrad that went wide right.
The best Middlebury chances in the first half came off of a free kick from just outside the penalty area in the 16th minute. Conrad took a hard strike over the wall but the ball hit the crossbar. Kirk Horton ’17 was there to collect the rebound, but his shot was saved.
Middlebury’s chances in the first half were generally off target, but the Panthers denied several other Wesleyan shots in the first half, including a one-handed save from Sydor in the 27th minute. The Cardinals led 6-5 in shots at halftime, and 4-1 in shots on goal.
“We just had a few slip-ups in the first half,” said center back Deklan Robinson ’16. “It took us a little while to get into the game but once we did, the mistakes stopped and we started to get some chances.”
Coming out of the break with the scoreless tie still intact, Wesleyan was able to keep the upper hand that they had established in the first half. Six minutes after the restart, Sydor pushed aside a close Wesleyan shot for his fifth save of the day, but last week’s NESCAC player of the week Adam Cowie-Haskell was in the area to put home the rebound and give the Cardinals the lead.
After the goal, Middlebury settled into the game and began to suffocate the Wesleyan attack. The Cardinals only recorded two shots in the final 40 minutes, and neither was on target. Conversely, Middlebury began to force the ball forward through the midfield and attack the frame, led by Conrad’s five second-half shots, four of which were on target and three of which were goals.
“I though that Conrad had a great game,” said Captain Noah Goss-Woliner ’15. “Not only scoring three goals, but he also gave us an energy boost by winning balls all over the field. We were able to feed off of his work rate, as well as the energy of the crowd, and put some sustained pressure on their goal.”
In the 56th minute, Middlebury packed its tallest players into the box off of a free kick. In a fashion reminiscent of the game winner against Bates, Middlebury sent the ball into the box, where they used their size advantage to start bouncing the ball off heads in the box. Conrad was able to get a touch in front of the goal above the Wesleyan back line and level the score at one goal apiece.
Middlebury continued to push forward, with Adam Glaser ’17 registering a close shot. In the 67th minute, as the ball was skating toward the Wesleyan end line, Glaser beat a defender to the ball, controlled the ball, and burned the defender to send the ball towards the middle of the box from the left side. In the commotion in front of the goal, Conrad kicked the ball over his shoulder with his back to the goal for his second goal of the day.
Middlebury continued their dominance after taking the lead, highlighted by a beautiful corner kick from Goss-Woliner that found the head of a streaking Tom Dils ’17. Dils’ header was quick but just high as it bounced off the crossbar.
The Panther defense held strong as several Wesleyan opportunities skirted across the face of goal, but they didn’t manage a shot. As the Cardinals brought more attackers on in the final minutes and pushed their keeper forward in search of an equalizer, they managed to get three corner kicks in the last three minutes, all of which were cleared. The last clearance found Conrad’s feet in the Wesleyan half with less than a minute to play; he beat the lone defender and danced on the penalty spot after firing a hard shot into the right side to complete his hat trick.
The comeback victory came in front of a sizable parent’s weekend crowd on a sunny Saturday afternoon.
The other 10 NESCAC schools played on Wednesday afternoon to determine the final seeding for the NESCAC tournament. Thanks to the tiebreaker Middlebury won over Wesleyan after Saturday’s win, the Panthers are guaranteed either the third or fourth seed in the tournament, both of which come with a home game on Saturday, Nov. 1.
Goss-Woliner commented on the win.
“This was one of the biggest wins that this program has had in a long time and it’s a great opportunity to be able to play another game at home next weekend,” he said. “We are a confident team on our home field and are looking forward to proving ourselves in the tournament.”
(10/22/14 9:02pm)
The Middlebury men’s soccer team (7-2-3, 4-2-3) drew and won over fall break, and won on Saturday, Oct. 18 at home to move up in the NESCAC standings and record their first wins since Colby halted their five game shutout win streak in September.
On Saturday, Oct. 11, the team traveled to Hartford and battled Trinity to a 1-1 double overtime draw. The Panthers fell behind early when Trinity put home the opening goal 20 minutes in. Middlebury was able to keep the game close in the opening half and equaled the Bantams’ seven first half shots.
Middlebury’s equalizer came in the 63rd minute when Adam Glaser ’17 found Greg Conrad ’17, who put home his third goal of the season. Middlebury looked for an opportunity to take all three points, but were unable to find a winner, despite holding a 10-3 advantage on corner kicks. As the game went into overtime, the Panthers put four shots on target in the first ten minutes, but had all of the chances turned away. Greg Sydor ’17 recorded five saves on the day as the Panthers played their second straight draw.
The following day, Middlebury played their second fall break game at last-place Hamilton. The Panthers were able to convert their early opportunities and scored two of the three on-target shots in the first half. Just 97 seconds after kick off, Glaser stole the ball outside the Hamilton penalty area, passed to Conrad, who returned the favor to set up Glaser’s sixth goal of the season.
Hamilton had an opportunity early in the first half when Sydor punched a ball out on a corner kick and a Hamilton player bicycle kicked a ball that was cleared by the Panther back line.
Middlebury took a two-goal lead after Dan Skayne ’15 set up Conrad. Conrad took a pass in from Skayne in the 29th minute, settled the ball outside the penalty area and sent a shot into the top right corner.
Middlebury preserved its lead throughout the second half; Sydor turned away the two on target Hamilton shots to earn the shutout. Hamilton led Middlebury 13-11 on shots, but could not match the Panthers’ accuracy. Kirk Horton ’17 nearly added a third goal before halftime on a corner kick, but the score remained 2-0 as Middlebury won for the first time since Sept. 23.
After the draw and loss, Conrad described the team’s mentality.
“Although we didn’t get the results we wanted going into the weekend, we played some of our best soccer this season,” Conrad said. “It seems like everything is coming together and now we just need to focus on closing out games.”
This Saturday, Oct. 18, the Panthers hosted Bates in a homecoming matchup for the Hedley Reynolds Cup, an annual trophy awarded in memory of Thomas Hedley Reynolds, an administrator at Middlebury prior to becoming the President of Bates College.
Middlebury dominated early in the rainy ordeal, buoyed by a size advantage that saw the Panthers win most balls in the air and push forward into the Bates half, including a flurry of shots all turned away in the 13th minute. In the 18th minute, Philip Skayne ’17 crossed the ball from the right towards Glaser. Glaser settled the ball, put a move on a Bates defender at the top of the penalty box, and pushed a curling shot around the keeper into the right side of the net. The goal was Glaser’s seventh on the season, and the assist was the first for Skayne.
Bates kept the game close, despite struggling for chances early in the second half. In the 70th minute, Middlebury mishandled a clearance on the right baseline, and the ball bounced around several players until Bates forced home the equalizer. As regulation drew to a close, Bates had several opportunities to go ahead, including a one-on-one save from Sydor in the 77th minute — his only save of the day — and a shot that missed just wide right with under three minutes to go.
The game went to overtime, as four of Middlebury’s last five matchups have, and the Panthers wasted no time showing that they were the better team. Two minutes in, Phil Skayne sent in Middlebury’s eighth corner kick of the day from the left side, where the rebound shot of Deklan Robinson ’16 bounced off of Horton before Conrad pushed in the game winner.
Horton commented on the recent string of wins. “Getting back to winning ways was great after a couple of losses and ties, but we haven’t been doing anything differently defensively from a tactical perspective, it has been more about regaining our bite that we had in the first six games, and the aggressiveness to keep forwards away from our goal.” Horton said.
Despite scoring three goals in three matches, Conrad pointed to an improved team attack mentality, saying, “I don’t think anything has really changed for me personally, I just happened to be the last guy to touch the ball in our buildups. We seem to be getting a lot more opportunities going forward as a team and have a wide variety of guys that can score goals.”
Middlebury finishes its NESCAC season on Saturday, when they host Wesleyan, who currently is tied with Williams and Middlebury for third place in the NESCAC. Middlebury’s regular season will conclude Wednesday, when they play Plymouth State.
“One thing that’s great about this team is we all believe that on any given day, we can play with and beat any team in our league,” Horton said.
(10/08/14 10:22pm)
The men’s soccer team continued their NESCAC schedule with a pair of double-overtime games this week, falling to Williams on Wednesday, Oct. 1 and tying Tufts on Saturday, Oct. 4.
On Wednesday, Middlebury travelled to Williamstown to play Williams. The Ephs started the season nationally ranked, but have since fallen to the middle of the pack in the NESCAC. Middlebury took the lead early only to lose it down the stretch, with a Williams game winner coming in the second overtime.
Middlebury took advantage of an early Williams slip up to jump on top early. A wayward clearance in the Ephs penalty box bounced around and hit a Williams arm to give Middlebury an early penalty kick. Noah Goss-Woliner ’15 converted the spot kick in the seventh minute by forcing a strong kick past the Williams keeper, who guessed correctly on the shot but nonetheless came up empty.
In the following minutes, Williams had two scoring chances, one of which was negated by a handball, and a dangerous cross that drifted out for a goal kick. However, the Ephs would break through in the 34th minute when they fired a hard header off a corner kick. Panther keeper Greg Sydor ’17 was up to the task, and pushed the ball away with a diving save. He however couldn’t regain his feet before Williams forced home the rebound.
The game continued through the second half in a dead heat, with both teams recording shots on goal, including a Goss-Woliner shot denied with 10 minutes left. Sydor recorded seven saves on the day, tying a season high.
In the overtime periods, Middlebury did not record a shot, and early in the second overtime, Williams’ Zach Grady sent the Panthers home with their second consecutive loss.
Despite the result, Coach Dave Saward noted the improvement over last week’s loss to Colby.
“We played quite well at Williams, and they’re a good team,” Saward said. “[Williams Coach Mike Russo] has got some very good players, and we competed fine, and we couldn’t find a way to win that game.”
On Saturday, Oct. 4, Middlebury played host to Tufts. The Jumbos were lead by coach Josh Shapiro ’97 who played for the Panthers for four years.
The rain came down throughout the entire game Saturday, as Middlebury and Tufts battled to a scoreless draw over 110 minutes. Middlebury’s starting lineup had a few changes from the beginning of the season, and the players managed to dominate possession early in the first half.
Saward commented on the changes he made after the Colby loss, perhaps leading to the consistent quality coming out of the midfield.
“We’ve changed a couple of players in the middle of the field, Luis Echeverria [’17] played very well on Wednesday and gave us a little more connection… Luis and Noah [Goss-Woliner] played extremely well, and we put Kirk Horton [’17] in at left back and he did really well. We feel like were in good shape, and if our two up front can connect: they’re dangerous.”
Unfortunately for Middlebury, the team was unable to generate any goals, putting up only six shots to Tufts’ 14. Despite the low numbers, Middlebury threatened consistently throughout the game and controlled the ball effectively, but were unable to convert any of their set pieces, one of the big producers of goals in recent games.
Greg Conrad ’17 had one of the better opportunities for the Panthers, when he put a soft ball past the charging Jumbos keeper in the 50th minute. The ball trickled wide right.
As Middlebury found their chances early, Tufts almost broke through in the second half with several one-on-one chances between Jumbos forwards and Sydor. Some chances sailed high or wide, and Sydor recorded six saves on the game.
Sydor praised his back line that helped him record his sixth shutout of the season.
“I think collectively, our defense has matured a lot since Colby. Before then we were feeling invincible which was good but at times made us take things for granted. Colby served as a great wake up call. From there we made a few tactical adjustments which I think have been working well so far.”
Late in the game, Middlebury almost converted on a set piece, with a Tim Ogle ’17 throw in that skipped across the face of goal.
In the overtime periods, Tufts held the upper hand, especially early. Halfway through the first overtime, Tufts fired a point blank shot on frame that Sydor managed to keep out with his foot. As the overtime periods drew to a close, Tufts pushed their last opportunity wide with almost two minutes left.
After a goal kick, Middlebury won a free kick at the halfway line with one minute left. Goss-Woliner – who found it convenient to carefully tie his shoe – sent the ball into the Tufts box as time expired to end the game in a tie.
‘We were very frustrated with the result against Williams,” Echiverria commented on the week’s play. “We thought we had played a very good game, perhaps one of our best in the entire season, and we were not able to get the win regardless. However, against Tufts we were happy with only picking up a point. They are a very good team and we wanted to stop the recent losing streak.”
Middlebury has a chance to build on this weekend’s tie with a doubleheader next weekend, Oct. 11 and 12. The team will travel to Trinity and Hamilton on Saturday and Sunday respectively. The two teams sit 10th and ninth, respectively, in the conference table.
“We’ve got it all to do,” Saward said. “It’s up to us. I think we’ve got the players, I think we’ve got the capability of doing it, but we’ve got to put a full game together… If we can put a little run together we’ll be fine.”
(10/01/14 8:40pm)
The men’s soccer team lost their first game of the season on Saturday, falling 3-0 to Colby in Waterville. With their midweek victory over Colby-Sawyer, the Panthers move to 5-1-1 on the season, and 2-1-1 in the NESCAC.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Middlebury traveled to New London, N.H., to face the Chargers in a non-conference fixture. The Panthers won 3-0 after a flurry of second half goals. Middlebury was unable to convert any of their 16 first half shots, and the game was scoreless until the 61st minute when Kirk Horton ’17 scored his second goal of the season. He found possession in the opposing penalty area, and slotted the ball home.
With the Panthers leading 1-0, Chargers midfielder Andrew Clothier was sent off for his second yellow card of the game, leaving the Panthers a man up for the final 25 minutes. Middlebury capitalized on the advantage with the first goal of the season for Noah Goss-Woliner ’15. The captain one-timed a ball from Adam Glaser ’17 which went in off the frame to double the Panther’s lead.
Goss-Woliner would service Horton’s second goal of the match two minutes later off of a corner kick.
Middlebury held a distinct shots advantage, with 31 in the game, and 16 on frame. Greg Sydor ’17 turned away a Colby-Sawyer free kick with four minutes left with a diving save. His late effort was all that was required to keep his fifth straight clean sheet.
On Saturday, Sept. 27, Middlebury visited Waterville to take on Colby College. The Mules sat at the bottom of the NESCAC table with no points in three conference games so far this season in comparison to Middlebury, who was third in the league entering the contest. The Panthers left Colby with no goals, the first time that they had failed to score this season. They lost the game 3-0, snapping a defensive streak in which they kept opponents from scoring for over eight hours of play.
In the first half, Middlebury had their chances, outshooting the Mules 7-3, but about 20 minutes into the contest, a cross from Colby ricocheted off of Middlebury resulting in an own goal. The goal meant that Middlebury trailed for the first time all season, and was the first allowed goal since the end of regulation against Amherst, before classes began.
“I wouldn’t say that the score totally reflected the game,” co-captain Harper Williams ’15 said. “They scored a fortunate own goal in the first half and then two more in after we made some attacking changes with 20 minutes left. That being said, they worked really hard and in the end deserved the win.”
While Middlebury searched for an equalizer and pressured forward, Colby was able to slip in behind the Panther back line and score their second goal with 12 minutes remaining.
Middlebury certainly had their chances, putting five shots on frame in the second half and taking seven corners to Colby’s five, but to no avail. With four minutes left Yinka Onayemi, the Colby forward, scored his second goal of the game, solidifying a Mule victory and handing Middlebury their first loss of the season.
“You have to learn from games like this,” Williams said. “Good teams take this experience and use it to prevent something like this from happening again. We are really excited that we play Williams on Wednesday. It gives us a great opportunity to rebound from the loss this weekend and get back to winning.”
Williams made his first appearance of the season in the game. The midfielder returned from a high ankle sprain sustained in the preseason and came off the bench to record four shots on the game.
Middlebury’s next home game comes on Saturday when they host Tufts. The Jumbos are undefeated in the NESCAC and ranked second to Amherst. Middlebury currently sits in fourth in the NESCAC.
(09/24/14 10:51pm)
The men’s soccer team (4-0-1, 2-0-1) continued their string of shutout victories with a comfortable midweek away victory over Southern Vermont and a home win over Bowdoin on Saturday, Sept. 20.
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the Panthers traveled to Bennington, where they were the heavy favorites against the Southern Vermont College Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Conference, and won 4-0. Middlebury pulled the trigger early and often against Southern Vermont, racking up 20 first-half shots. The Mountaineer defense turned away several early opportunities, but the Panthers could not be held goalless into halftime. In the 39th minute, Greg Conrad ’17 opened the scoring after he settled a pass up the middle from Andres Rodlauer ’16. Conrad slotted the ball into the left side of the net for his first goal of the season.
Middlebury would not score again in the first half, but instead doubled their lead on the other side of halftime. Conrad was the middleman on a give-and-go with Adam Glaser ’17 in the 52nd minute. He collected the pass and fed it back to a streaking Glaser who finished across the face of goal to put the Panthers up 2-0.
Nine minutes later, Conrad would score his second goal of the day off an assist from Kirk Horton ’17. The Panthers’ defense, solid in the opening games of the season, went unchallenged for the vast majority of the game. The Mountaineers took three shots, with only one on frame, which was turned away by goaltender Greg Sydor ’17. The Panthers held an insurmountable shot advantage, taking 38, with 17 on target. Sydor was replaced for the first time this season in the 76th minute in favor of Jeremy Yeager ’18. Yeager went unchallenged in goal.
In the waning minutes of the game, Dan Skayne ’15 had his first goal of the season off of a through ball from Enzo Weiner ’18 to wrap up the scoring. Middlebury left Southern Vermont with a 3-0-1 record after the 4-0 win.
Middlebury faced much stiffer competition in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Bowdoin. The Polar Bears maintained possession well early on, and had a great opportunity only 20 seconds in that sailed high. The Panther defense had their work cut out for them early as the ball was in the defensive half for a majority of the opening 20 minutes. The play through the Panther midfield was tenuous to begin the game, with Middlebury often surrendering possession to the Polar Bears, and relying on over-the-top balls to Glaser and Conrad to generate offense.
Nevertheless, the Panthers did pressure the Polar Bears back line and won a pair of consecutive corners in the 23rd minute. After the first was knocked out by Bowdoin, Noah Goss-Woliner ’15 sent a curling ball in from the right side towards the head of Tom Bean ’17. The tall center defender beat his mark and redirected the ball across the face of the goal to secure his first goal of the season.
On the last Middlebury set piece goal, Deklan Robinson ’16, another tall threat headed the ball home. Bean commented on the team’s strategy, “We have a very dangerous team in the air with all of our size, so we try to send our big guys into the box to make things happen on set plays, but that passes a lot of defensive responsibilities to other players. Fortunately everyone has been playing their parts effectively which allows Deklan and I to take those risks comfortably.”
Eight minutes later, Conrad sent a ball through the Bowdoin defense. Polar Bears’ goalkeeper Noah Safian misjudged the timing, and Glaser was able to beat him to the ball and chip it over him from the edge of the penalty area. The ball had just enough pace to beat a Bowdoin defender’s clearance effort.
Glaser was quick to praise his fellow striker, saying, “Our success as a front line is because of the chemistry Greg and I are building. Greg’s having a wonderful season so far and his ability to hold the ball up and
be a playmaker for us has been pivotal in the majority of goals we’ve been scoring.”
Glaser’s goal, assisted by Conrad, was the fourth such occurence of the season. Glaser now leads the NESCAC in goals outright with five, and Conrad similarly paces the league in assists.
“We’ve just started playing together and things are going very well,” Glaser said. “The fact we’re both just sophomores should be very scary for the rest of the NESCAC — this is just the beginning of what we’re capable of.”
In fact, Middlebury fielded very few seniors during their game on Saturday. Goss-Woliner was the lone senior to start for the Panthers, and Brandon Robinson ’15 came on briefly in the second half.
In the second half, Bowdoin tried to get on the board, but the Panther defense held strong, allowing only one shot on goal for the whole game, despite the Polar Bears’ nine total shots.
The Panthers held possession for extended periods throughout the second half, and controlled the midfield more effectively. The match became increasingly heated as Bowdoin failed to find the goal through the suffocating Panther defense. Sydor recorded the win and his fourth-straight clean sheet with one save in goal.
With this win, Middlebury holds third place in the NESCAC, three points behind leader Amherst.
On Tuesday, Sept. 23 the Panthers returned to action for a midweek matchup with regional foe Colby-Sawyer. Middlebury scored early and often in the match, with Kirk Horton ’17 sandwiching a pair of goals around a tally from Goss Woliner to give the Panthers the victory by a final score of 3-0.
Sydor saved the sole Colby-Sawyer shot on goal for his fifth consecutive shutout.
The Panthers resume NESCAC play on Saturday in Waterville against Colby. The Mules sit at the bottom of the table with a 0-3-0 league record.
“I think we will start to solidify our style of play and really figure out how to dominate games for the whole 90 minutes,” Bean said. “We just look at each game as a time to improve and play the best soccer our group of guys can play.”
(09/17/14 10:45pm)
The Middlebury men’s soccer team (2-0-1, 1-0-1) opened the season before classes began with a home draw against ninth-ranked Amherst, followed by two shutout victories this week at home against Norwich and in New London against Connecticut College.
On Sunday, Sept. 7 the men played in front of a large home crowd as they looked to knock off the three-time NESCAC champions.
The Panthers were nearly successful, coming within 20 seconds of the upset, and eventually settling for a double overtime tie. Both sides recorded shots throughout the game, with an apparent Greg Conrad ’17 goal called back for a handball and a sinking volley from Amherst saved by Greg Sydor ’17. Sydor recorded his first start for the Panthers in goal with 7 saves.
Middlebury opened the scoring in the 81st minute with a long throw-in from Tim Ogle ’17.
Ogle’s range allowed him to whip the ball towards the goal, where it bounced off an Amherst defender and found the back of the net.
Middlebury tried to hold on for the final nine minutes, and almost did until an Amherst throw-in wasn’t cleared and bounced around the penalty area. Lord Jeff senior Gabriel Wirz smashed a volley past Snydor to tie the game with 20 seconds remaining.
Though the Panthers were able to get three shots on goal, the score remained tied throughout the two overtime periods.
“The Amherst tie was definitely deflating, but we had to look back on it as positively as we could,” Defender Deklan Robinsion ’16 said. “A tie against a top team is a solid start.”
The Panthers got the draw despite a slight deficit in shots on goal. The Lord Jeffs held a 13-11 advantage in that statistical area.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, Middlebury hosted Norwich in a non-conference game and put up four goals in a routine win.
Luis Echeverria ’17 recorded his first career goal off an assist from Adam Glaser ’17 in the 14th minute. The goal would prove to be enough, but Robinson was able to head home a long throw-in from Ogle 11 minutes later to give the Panthers a two-goal lead headed into halftime.
In the second half, Glaser opened his scoring for the season with two goals. The first was a beautiful shot out of the air from the right side, across the face of the goal; Kirk Horton ’17 recorded the assist on the strike. Glaser recorded his second goal six minutes later, off an assist from Conrad after a scramble in front of the net.
Both teams cycled out their starters for most of the second half, as Norwich failed to generate scoring chances on a regular basis. Sydor recorded the shutout with two saves. Although the Panther’s starters rested towards the end of the game, the team continued to attack the goal.
“Going into these games it’s sometimes tough to get the same atmosphere, as many of them are midweek games, but that’s something that we have to generate from within,” said co-captain Noah Goss-Woliner ’15. “We have to make sure that we come out firing and not concede any goals. Having a good non-conference record is vital if we are trying to get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, so being focused and making sure we get results out of this game is crucial.”
On Saturday, Sept. 13, Middlebury returned to their NESCAC slate against Conn. College.
Two goals to open the second half would be the only scores of the game, as the Panthers shutout the Camels on the road. Conrad provided the assists on both goals, laying off a throw in in the 47th minute for Horton to muscle home, and setting up Glaser’s third goal of the week in the 54th. Sydor remained solid in goal, saving six shots to keep Conn College off the board.
“As a team, we’ve tried to instill a really positive and professional attitude around everything we do and I think that has helped us going into this season,“ Goss-Woliner said. “The younger guys have really stepped up and taken more responsibility, which has translated to production on the field. Greg Sydor has been phenomenal in net and we’ve gotten goals from several sophomores on the offensive end. The younger guys know they play an important role on the team and they have grown into it very nicely.”
Robinson’s header against Norwich was to be the only point for an upperclassman on the team, with the sophomore class recording every other assist and goal in the first three games.
Sydor earned the shutout, his second at this juncture in the season, with a gritty six-save performance in goal for the Panthers.
Middlebury racked up a 14-13 shooting advantage over Conn. College in the game. The Camels failed to score despite totaling 10 corner kicks to Middlebury’s one.
Middlebury sits tied for 3rd in the NESCAC and will next host Bowdoin (1-2-0, 0-2-0) on Saturday, Sept. 20 at noon. The Polar Bears finished fifth in the conference a year ago, one spot ahead of Middlebury.
(04/30/14 2:55pm)
The Middlebury golf teams completed their regular seasons this weekend, with the men capturing the NESCAC championship on their home course on Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27, and the women traveling to Williams for the Northeast Elite Invitational.
The men played host to Williams, Trinity and Amherst at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course and won the event with a weekend score of 625. They defeated runner-up Williams by one stroke and third-place Trinity by four, with Amherst finishing 35 strokes behind the Panthers. The NESCAC crown is the third team title for Middlebury in four years, and the program’s sixth overall. With the win, the team automatically qualifies for the NCAA championships to be held at Grandover Resort in Grandover, N.C. on May 13-16.
On Saturday, Middlebury took advantage of their home course, and for the first time this season came out strong on the first day of play, jumping out to an eleven-stroke lead. The Panthers were led on day one by one-over rounds of 72 from Rob Donahoe ’14 and Fitz Bowen ’17. Charlie Garcia ’15 sat in a tie for third going into Sunday after carding a 75. Max Alley ’14 shot 80 and John Louie ’15 shot 84, giving the Panthers a one-day team score of 299.
Playing with the lead for the first time this season, Middlebury dropped shots early on a cold, wet, windy day two on the course. Bowen led the Panthers on Sunday by shooting a round of 77. The first-year tied for the best round on both Saturday and Sunday and took home medalist honors on the weekend.
“This weekend my goal was to attack the course from tee to green, and stay conservative when I had a putter in my hands,” said Bowen. “The greens were difficult to judge and I knew that if I played two rounds without a three-putt, I would be in contention.”
Bowen finished four strokes in front of Williams senior and 2013 champion Cody Semmelrock to become the first first-year to win the tournament since 2006.
Donahoe was second for the Panthers after shooting 82 on Sunday to finish tied for third. Garcia finished tied for sixth after matching Donahoe’s 82 on day two. Alley shot 85 for 15th place, and Louie shot 87 to finish in 20th place.
Garcia’s round looked to be in shambles after a quadruple bogey on the par-five 11th, a hole that gave most of the Panthers fits on Sunday.
“I sat nine over on the 12th tee and I thought the championship was slipping through my fingertips,” said Garcia. “Coach Beaney pulled me aside and said, ‘We need you to grind it out. There is a lot of golf left. I know you are mad but the past is the past.’ I ended up getting up and down for par on five out of my last seven holes, which was vital.”
Williams nearly made up their 12-stroke deficit, thanks to consistent play across the board, but Middlebury’s strong play down the stretch held off the Eph’s charge.
At the Division-III NCAAs, the Panthers look to become the first NESCAC team to make the 15-team cut at the tournament. The Panthers missed the cut by 14 strokes the last time they made the tournament, in 2011-12.
On the women’s side, the Panthers played at Taconic Golf Club in Williamstown, MA at the final tournament of the season. In the tournament, Middlebury played against the usual slate of NESCAC opponents and Methodist University, who won the tournament by two strokes. Ithaca College finished third, fourteen strokes behind Methodist, followed by Middlebury in fourth place with a weekend total of 676.
While the third straight week of finishing behind Williams and Ithaca would seem to take the wind out of the team’s sails, top Middlebury scorer Jordan Glatt ’15 does not see it as such.
“This season’s outcome has only made us more determined to improve next year and overtake Williams and Ithaca at the top of the leaderboard,” said Glatt.
Glatt led the Panthers over the weekend, as she has for much of the spring season with rounds of 78 and 85, landing her in 12th place. Monica Chow ’16 shot 82 and 83 to finish tied for 15th, Michelle Peng ’16 shot 88 and 82 to finish 22th. She was able to lower her score by 6 strokes despite the tough conditions.
“The second day the wind really picked up, which made the conditions much tougher at an already challenging course,” said Peng. “Going into the second round I tried to relax and not overthink things.”
Because the NESCAC does not sponsor a women’s golf championship, the Williams tournament marks the end of the season for the team. Caroline Kenter ’14 played in her final tournament at Middlebury and shot 83 and 97 to finish 29th. Theodora Yoch ’17 rounded out the competing Panthers and finished 31st.
The team – which failed to qualify for the NCAA championship – will welcome two new recruits in the fall to replace departing senior captain Kenter.
(04/24/14 3:37am)
The Middlebury golf teams traveled for their penultimate regular season tournaments, April 19 and 20, where the women took fifth place in the Jack Leaman Championship hosted by Amherst, and the men were the runners-up at the Williams Spring NESCAC Opener.
The weather played a major role in both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Last Tuesday’s snowstorm prevented a full week of practice for both teams. Additionally, Taconic golf club amended three holes for the men’s tournament, using temporary greens with buckets for cups.
At Amherst, the women shot 331 on Saturday and 324 on Sunday to finish in fifth place overall. Ithaca College and Williams both finished the weekend atop the team leaderboard with a score of 644. Merrimack College (649) and Amherst (650) were third and fourth, respectively. The Panthers were able to improve against NYU and Cortland, two teams that bested them last weekend in Poughkeepsie, NY, finishing 14 strokes clear of NYU and 23 strokes ahead of Cortland.
Jordan Glatt ’15 was again Middlebury’s low-scoring player for the weekend, birdieing three of the last five holes to card an 81 on Saturday, and shooting a 79 on day two for a weekend score of 160, tied for sixth in the field. She finished eleven strokes behind the leader Georgiana Salant of Williams, who won the event by a comfortable four strokes.
Monica Chow ’16 also had a strong weekend, firing off two consecutive rounds of 81 and finishing tied for 14th. Theodora Yoch ’17 finished tied for 16th one stroke behind Chow after shooting 84 and 79 over the weekend.
Rounding out the competing Panthers were capitan Caroline Kenter ’14 (89-85) and Michelle Peng ’15 (85-89) who both finished tied for 36th.
Kenter was quick to praise her teammates performance this weekend.
“My game isn’t where I wanted it to be this spring, but my teammates have really picked up the slack,” said Kenter. “[Theodora Yoch ’17] has played really well over the last two weeks. It’s exciting to see a freshman with so much skill and potential.”
Next week, April 26 and 27, the women will wrap up regular season play by traveling to Williams for the final tournament before a potential NCAA appearance.
“As a team, we have ‘team goals’ for every tournament which all five of us try to achieve,” said Yoch. “Next weekend will be our last tournament for the season. Ideally, all of us will play our best, which will let us end things on a good note.”
The men’s golf team was in action on the Taconic Golf Club Championship Course in Williamstown, Mass over the weekend. On Saturday, Middlebury shot a combined 307, but for the second weekend in a row dropped 13 strokes off the team total on Sunday to move up to second place behind Williams College. Middlebury was in third place after day one and within striking distance of the Ephs, but the Williams golfers also improved on Sunday to shoot 293 – one better than the Panthers – and extend their lead to eight strokes. The Williams ‘B’ team matched Middlebury’s day two total to move into a tie for third with Hamilton.
“We have always been a second day team for some seasons,” said co-Captain Rob Donahoe ’14. “I don’t necessarily change things after day one, but just tweak a couple things and try to play smarter. Knowing the course so well for this weekend should help us to be prepared to shoot a low first round because there won’t be any surprises.”
Individually, Greg Palmer of Trinity ran away with the weekend’s tournament with an even-par 142, five strokes ahead of the second-place men. Donahoe returned to the top spot on the team with rounds of 76 and 72, giving him a weekend score of six over par, and a tie for fourth place. Charlie Garcia ’15 notched his second consecutive top ten finish with rounds of 77 and 76.
Eric Laorr ’15 and co-Captain Max Alley ’14 both shot consecutive rounds of 77 and tied for 14th place. Fitz Bowen ’17 shot 81 on day one, but managed to take advantage of day two with a score of 74 to move up to one shot behind Laorr and Alley into a tie for 17th. John Louie ’15 recovered from an uncharacteristic 87 on Saturday with a one-over 72 on Sunday to finish alone in 26th place.
Next weekend, the men’s team will host Trinity, Amherst and Williams for the NESCAC championships at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course. The opening round will be played on Friday, April 25, with the conference champion being crowned after Saturday’s second round.
The winning team will represent the conference at the Division III national championship in North Carolina. Middlebury will look to secure a spot in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years, having won the conference crown in 2012.
“We’ll all be more familiar with the course and that much more comfortable out there so I expect the team to come out hot on day one and put ourselves in a better position for the final round,” said Alley.
(04/16/14 2:59pm)
The Middlebury golf teams teed up the spring season with a couple road trips south last weekend. The men’s team placed second at the NYU Invitational and the women placed fifth at the Vassar College Invitational.
NYU hosted the men’s competition at Forest Hills Field Club in New Jersey, where Williams seized an eight-stroke day one lead over second-place Middlebury on Saturday, April 12. On a phenomenal Sunday, the Panther men shaved thirteen shots off their Saturday total and shot a combined 289, but they could not make up the deficit to a consistent Williams squad that won the tournament by a stroke. The two NESCAC powers dominated, as the third place University of Rochester finished 15 strokes behind Middlebury’s second place score.
“We played very solid golf this weekend as a team,” John Louie ’15 said. “This was our first tournament of the spring season and our first competitive rounds of golf since last October. We all were confident in our preparation for the tournament and turned out a great second day. We just had to dust some of the cobwebs off.”
Individually, Charlie Garcia ’15 paced the Panthers on Saturday with a three-over-par 74. The other four Middlebury competitors—Fitz Bowen ’17, Robbie Donahoe ’14, Eric Laorr ’15 and Louie — all carded scores in the 70s.
“The course was great,” Louie said. “It required accurate and smart shotmaking. There were quite a few holes to score on and on the second day we really took advantage of that.”
On day two, Louie shot a tournament-best two-under-par 69 to finish tied for third place with 145 on the weekend — one stroke out of the playoff. Garcia shot a 72 to move up to fifth place, and Bowen also finished in the top ten with a weekend score of 148, good for a tie for ninth. Donahoe shot a 75 on Sunday for weekend score of 153 and a share of 22nd place, while Laorr (77-79-156) tied for 31st.
“We really focused on staying patient,” Garcia said. “The season is so short and the weather hasn’t been ideal…so it’s important to work on things in moderation. It’s more about peaking at the right time and I think we are very close do doing that.”
The Panthers will look to build on their success in next weekend’s tournament at Williams, where they will have a final tune-up before the NESCAC championships. Middlebury beat the Ephs at the NESCAC qualifier in the fall to earn the right to host the championships later this spring.
“Williams played solid golf this weekend and we were not surprised by that,” Louie said. “We anticipated a good weekend from them after a competitive fall season.”
On the women’s side, the 25th-ranked Panthers played at the Vassar Invitational at Casperkill Golf Club in Poughkeepsie, N.Y on April 12 and 13. Middlebury placed fifth out of the 12-team field with a weekend score of 665. Fourth-ranked Williams won the tournament with a total score of 633, while eighth-ranked Ithaca (650), Cortland (658) and NYU (662) also went lower than the Panthers.
“Williams and Ithaca played consistently well, as they usually do, but Cortland and NYU surprised us,” Monica Chow ’16 said. “We usually come in second or third, so coming in fifth is definitely a wake up call for all of us. We know we are a stronger team than we showed this past weekend, and I think we are all looking forward to redeeming ourselves this coming weekend.”
Chow finished the event with a weekend 168, tied for 21st and 10 strokes behind team leader Jordan Glatt ’15. Glatt carded two consecutive rounds of 79 to finish the weekend tied for fourth, four strokes behind the leaders.
“It was great to begin competing again, as we have not had a tournament since the fall,” Glatt said. “Even though this season is only three weeks long, we hope to make the best of it and continue to improve.”
The Panthers were able to improve on Saturday’s showing, taking seven shots off their score as a team on Sunday. It would not be enough as Cortland and NYU jumped Middlebury down the stretch to finish third and fourth, respectively.
Michelle Peng ’15 was hindered by an early quadruple bogey on Saturday, but finished strong, shooting 84 and 85 and placing 23rd in the tournament field.
Theodora Yoch ’17 (84-86) finished tied for 24th, and Caroline Kenter ’14 (91-91) finished 44th.
The women’s squad will compete next weekend at a tournament hosted by Amherst College.
(03/12/14 2:32pm)
The men’s lacrosse team lost its second consecutive NESCAC game to open the 2014 season by a score of 6-3 to visiting Connecticut College on Saturday, March 8 on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium.
The Panthers jumped to an early lead but could not stymie a string of third-quarter Camel goals as Conn. College handed Middlebury its second loss of the season.
Middlebury started the game quickly, as Jon Broome ’16 was a part of two early goals that put the hosts up 2-0 at the end of the first quarter. Broome kicked off the scoring with his fourth goal of the season five minutes into the game. Later in the period, he assisted Stephen Seymour ’14 as Middlebury converted its lone extra man opportunity of the afternoon.
Broome was quick to credit Middlebury’s strong defense for generating the early offensive chances.
“Our defense looked great yesterday, and we were able to generate good transition opportunities,” Broome said. “There is a lot that can be taken away from this game, but it is clear that we need to work on our stick skills and finishing.”
Middlebury was able to maintain its lead, but Conn. College attacker Derek Bertolini worked an unassisted goal past Middlebury goalie Nate Gaudio ’14 early in the second quarter. The Panther defensive unit held their ground in the first half, seeing off three Middlebury penalties and maintaining the one-goal lead into halftime.
“We did a great job of coming together as a unit on the defensive end; there was a lot of communication and people knew their roles,” Defender Geoff Vrla ’14 said. “The challenge is now to play like this against a fast-paced offense like that of Tufts.”
After halftime, the Camels were able to net five straight goals that would give them the lead for good. Middlebury was unable to find the back of the net in the third quarter.
Seymour noted the team’s frustration with the Camels’ defensive play.
“What makes Conn. such a difficult team to play each year is their zone defense,” Seymour said. “It really slows down the game and makes it difficult to score quickly. Conn., in the past, has liked to take the air out of the ball on offense once they have a lead. That’s exactly what they did yesterday.”
Middlebury was able to generate its fair share of chances in the second half, firing off 16 shots. None got past Conn. goalie Bobby Bleistein until Chris Peterson ’14 scored with four minutes left off of a pass from Broome.
While the second straight NESCAC defeat is not optimal for the team, they are determined to focus on the upside.
“Kids were communicating well and playing good on-ball defense,” Gaudio said. “We also took care of the ball in the middle of the field, and it was our best clearing performance yet.”
The Panthers outshot the Camels 31-29 and won the ground ball contest 25-23 on the game. Each team committed 15 turnovers on the afternoon, with turnovers turning into transition points on both ends of the field.
The Panther defense finished the game having seen off all six Conn. extra-man opportunities. Gaudio added strong goalie play – stopping 13 shots in the loss – in a much improved defensive performance from last week’s 24-goal performance against Middlebury by the Tufts attack.
With the loss, the Panthers fall to 1-2 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
Middlebury goes on the road this Saturday, March 15, for a matchup with ninth-ranked Wesleyan. The Panthers hope that the improvements that they made against Conn. College over last week’s lopsided loss against Tufts will carry over into a conference victory over the Cardinals.
Last year, it was Wesleyan who ousted the Panthers in the NESCAC semifinals in a game that went down to the final seconds. In addition to giving Middlebury a measure of revenge, a win would push the Panthers – defending regular season champions and preseason conference contenders – right back into the race for the NESCAC title.
“Although it was a tough loss, the defensive effort yesterday is something we can be proud of as a team and will be a building block for the rest of the season,” Seymour said.
(03/06/14 12:05am)
Connecticut College came to Kenyon Arena on Saturday, March 1 and upset top seed Middlebury in a 2-1 overtime win that saw the Panthers eliminated in the quarterfinals for the first time in NESCAC tournament history. The eighth-seeded Camels scored ten minutes into the sudden-death overtime period to advance to next week’s championship at Williams.
In an even opening few minutes, the Camels went ahead when Ashley Anctil managed to slip a rebound shot past Annabelle Jones ’15 six minutes into the contest. Minutes later, Amanda Bogue was whistled for the first of nine Camels penalties on the night.
Middlebury had several chances to equalize, as they kept up pressure in the first period. Madeline Joyce ’14 and Julia Wardwell ’16 both had close calls but the Panthers went into the first intermission trailing 1-0.
The second period was all Middlebury. The Panthers immediately controlled the puck as Jennifer Krakower ’14 passed the puck to Pam Schulman ’17 in the zone. Schulman crossed the puck into the crease to Joyce, who knotted the game with a one-time goal.
Middlebury continued to dominate, often orchestrating long possessions in the offensive zone. The Panthers were the beneficiaries of four more penalties, including over 30 seconds of 5-on-3 play in the period. They peppered the net with 13 shots to the Camels’ 2, but were unable to take the lead.
“I think we created good chances and controlled the puck well,” Captain Sara Ugalde ’14 said, “We just weren’t able to finish the chances we got.”
In the third period, Middlebury fired off another 11 shots, and had a full two minutes of 5-on-3 hockey, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The Kenyon Arena crowd bemoaned each Middlebury near miss, as the Panthers saw several close shots ricochet off of the framework or grabbed by Camels goalie Kelsie Fralick, who had 39 stops on the night. The Middlebury defensive line held strong in the closing minutes, killing off the lone Conn. College power play to send the game into overtime.
In extra time, both teams had opportunities, none closer than Joyce’s break where she was pulled down by Camels defender Julie Beattie. Beattie was penalized for the tripping seven minutes into extra time. Middlebury’s final power play was similar to their first seven.
“We moved the puck really well on the power play this weekend and definitely had our chances,” Laura McConney ’15 said, “we just couldn’t find the rebounds.”
The Panthers allowed Conn. College to come back to full strength, where the Camels tipped a shot past Jones for the win ten minutes into overtime. Conn. College finished with only 20 shots to Middlebury’s 40.
The NESCAC tournament soldiers on to its final weekend in Williamstown, where third-seeded Williams will host the remaining teams. Middlebury, meanwhile, awaits the NCAA playoff pairings, to be announced on Sunday, March 9. As the fourth-ranked team in the nation, they could receive an at-large bid.
“The mindset for this week is to bounce back from the loss,” Ugalde said, “As always, we will work hard to get better every day.”
(02/19/14 4:02pm)
Middlebury’s second-ranked women’s hockey team won and tied its two games against Williams this weekend in a home-and-home series that saw the Panthers clinch home ice for the upcoming NESCAC playoffs. On Friday, Feb. 14, league leaders Middlebury played host to the then second place Williams, winning 3-2. Middlebury then escaped Williamstown on Saturday with a 1-1 tie, their unbeaten league record intact.
In Kenyon Arena on Friday, Middlebury won a tight game riddled with power plays for each team. After a close, scoreless first period, Micaela Thibault ’16 broke the tie six minutes after the first intermission. She took the puck into the offensive zone and fired an unassisted wrist shot past Ephs goaltender Chloe Billadeau for her first goal at Middlebury.
The lead was short lived as Williams equalized later in the period with a goal eight seconds after a checking penalty sent Jane Freda ’17 to the penalty box.
In the minute preceding the second intermission, Middlebury regained the lead after a two-on-one break led to a scrum in the Williams crease, allowing Hannah Bielawski ’15 to force in her sixth goal of the season.
Williams knotted the score again after they converted their second power play of the night.
In the final ten minutes, Middlebury showed their grit and were the beneficiary of two back-to-back power plays. Thirty seconds into the second power play, the Panthers whipped the puck around the perimeter and set up a slapshot by Jennifer Krakower ’14 that flew into the back of the net.
Williams pulled their goalie and had a fair share of chances to tie the game in the dying moments of the game, as two Middlebury penalties elicited a frenzied final minute of six on three hockey. Goaltender Annabelle Jones ’15, Emily Fluke ’15, Madeline Joyce ’14 and Carly Watson ’17 blocked every Williams shot and sealed the win.
“The game Friday concluded with a high level of adrenaline and team work with us killing off a six on three in the last minute,” Jones said. “I would consider our win on Friday to be one of the best team wins we have had all season as it required a great amount of heart and perseverance to preserve our lead.”
In Saturday’s matchup, Middlebury trailed for the majority of the game. Middlebury and Williams both dispatched several early man-up opportunities, and the game remained tied until Williams opened the scoring with 1:10 left in the first period. Middlebury’s offense kept up pressure in the second period with several close chances — including a power play shot off the crossbar — but failed to convert the opportunities.
Middlebury’s efforts finally paid off late in the third period as Pam Schulman ’17 fired a shot past Willams’ Billadeau to tie the game with under three minutes left. Katie Mandigo ’16 and Joyce assisted on Schulman’s goal. In the final minutes, Middlebury saw close chances turned away both by the goalie and the goalposts. The game remained tied throughout the added five minutes and ended 1-1.
Krakower echoed Jones’ enthusiasm following the two close games.
“This has been one of our better NESCAC weekends,” Krakower said. “We fought and battled hard. We obviously would have liked to come out this weekend with two wins, but Williams is a strong team.”
This season marks the fourth straight year that Head Coach Bill Mandigo’s team has finished atop the NESCAC table.
“This team has a tremendous amount of talent,” Krakower said. “Everyone is contributing to the team from the freshmen to the seniors.”
Middlebury improved to 17-2-4 on the season and finished conference play 12-0-4. While the Panthers have finished their regular season, the eight other NESCAC teams play this weekend to determine the seeding for the March 1st NESCAC quarterfinals. Middlebury enters the playoffs looking to improve on a deep run last year that ended in a national championship game loss to Elmira.