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(04/24/14 3:45am)
Coming off of a 15-8 win against Union College, the Middlebury women’s lacrosse team suffered an uncharacteristic loss to 10th-ranked Colby by a score of 14-11 on Saturday, April 19. The game was a 60-minute battle, with both teams remaining within three goals of each other until the final 10 minutes.
Colby was the first to fire in the game with Mule Abby Hatch scoring an unassisted goal two minutes into the game. Middlebury responded with three consecutive goals. Liza Herzog ’14 finished the first goal unassisted, while Megan Griffin ’16 was able to finish the second two of the Panther run with assists from Delania Smith ’17 and Katie Ritter ’15 respectively.
After a two-goal rebuttal from Colby, Laurel Pascal ’16 netted a pass from Herzog to make the score 4-3 with 22 minutes left in the first half. Colby then went on a three-goal run only to be stopped by an unassisted goal from Ritter. Despite losing momentum to a number of Mule goals, the Panthers were able to swing the momentum in their favor going into the second half with a pair of goals from Griffin and Pascal.
Running with this momentum, Herzog and Ritter were able to score goals for the Panthers five minutes into the first half, which allowed the Panthers to take the lead. These, however, would be Middlebury’s last points until eight minutes left in the game as Colby went on a run of five unanswered goals that was only stymied by a goal from Alli Sciarretta ’16 to make the final score 11-14.
Middlebury’s performance was led by Griffin who finished the day with three goals and an assist, along with Ritter, who finished with two goals and two assists. Herzog and Sciarretta each finished the game with a pair of goals and an assist. Catherine Fowler ’15 led the Panthers in the ground-ball game, finishing with five ground balls.
“Megan Griffin has been a nice surprise for us this season,” Head Coach Missy Foote said. “This year she hit the ground running and has really been a big contributor. She plays smart and poised and has great stick skills.”
Foote also noted that Fowler has handled her transition from attack to defense well, and is making a big difference on the field both on defense and as the team’s draw specialist.
Colby’s Lindsey McKenna led the Mules’ effort finishing with five goals on the day. Her performance was complemented by Katharine Eddy who finished with three goals and three assists, as well as Sarah Lux who finished with four assists.
Colby outshot Middlebury 24-20 and out-ground-balled the Panthers 15-6. Middlebury – who cleared 15 of its 18 attempts against Union on Tuesday – had significant trouble with its clearing game against Colby as they successfully cleared only 6 of 14 attempts.
Foote noted that the clear game would be a focus as the team moves forward.
“We have struggled a bit in that area this season but are working on it and improving daily,” she said.
While Alyssa Palomba ’14 started the game for the Panthers, after 18 minutes she was substituted for Katie Mandigo ’16, who finished the game with two saves on nine total shots on goal.
Now 10-4 on the season and 6-3 in conference play, Middlebury hopes to host a NESCAC quarterfinal matchup on Saturday, April 26. The Panthers will likely be playing for their season throughout the NESCAC tournament, as they cannot count on receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
(04/16/14 2:53pm)
Super Bowl champion Steve Hauschka ’07 returns to his alma mater tonight for a Q&A with Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Alex Wolff. Tomorrow night, Friday, April 18, the town of Middlebury will have the chance to talk with the former Panther in a meet-and-greet style gathering at Middlebury Union High School.
Thursday’s event is open only to Middlebury College ID holders, and will be held in McCullough Social Space at 7 PM. Because a large crowd is expected, a live screening will be provided in Dana Auditorium for overflow. A joint effort by MCAB, which will cover Hauschka’s travel expenses, and Director of Athletic Communications Brad Nadeau, who contacted Hauschka, is bringing the current Seahawk and his wife, Lindsey Hauschka ’07, to campus.
“MCAB is really excited to bring Steve Hauschka to campus,” MCAB President Elizabeth Fouhey ’14 said. “From the reactions that we have heard, the student body is excited. I am happy that we are connecting with a group on campus that MCAB does not always reach. I hope students from across campus attend, not just athletes. Hauschka is one of us ... He’s a Midd kid.”
Hauschka began his football career as a sophomore after being cut from the soccer team his first year. As a kicker and punter, Hauschka twice made the all-NESCAC team and was named a District I Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors Association for his senior year. Hauschka owns the Middlebury records for most field goals in a single season and in a career.
After graduating from Middlebury, Hauschka attended North Carolina State, where he became a finalist for the Lou Groza award, given to the nation’s top place-kicker.
Hauschka’s unlikely rise to fame is something that Wolff finds intriguing.
“His journey is unexpected for somebody, not just from Middlebury, but for any Division 3 athlete,” Wolff said. “His athletic experience here wasn’t what he planned. It’s a great lesson ... There’s no telling what your sports story is going to be ... If one door closes, another one might be cracked open.”
Wolff also hopes to uncover Hauschka’s football heritage.
“I heard a story that [Hauschka’s] dad, who played rugby, had a tryout with the Cowboys as a kicker,” Wolff said. “I’d love to hear that story. If that’s true, it surprises me that he didn’t try out for football when he came to Middlebury.”
Hauschka showed talent from day one, but developed during his three years in a Panther uniform.
“He worked hard at his craft when he was here,” Football Head Coach Bob Ritter said. “You could tell right away he had pop in his leg.”
The exposure that Hauschka received as a walk-on at NC State during the 2007-08 season allowed him to get tryouts with NFL teams, though he had the potential to kick in the pros while at Middlebury.
“It’s the same everywhere,” Ritter said. “It’s the same in the pros, it’s the same in Division I, it’s the same in Division III. You’re kicking from that spot, and it’s going that far. So at that time [during his senior year at Middlebury] it was obvious he had the leg.”
During his one year at NC State, Hauschka went 25-25 on extra points and 16-18 on field goals.
The 28-year old has been on the roster of the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos, as well as the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League. Since September 4th, 2011, Hauschka has been an integral member of the Seattle Seahawks, and over his three seasons as a full-time place kicker has increased his field goal percentage each year, tallying a career-high 94.3 percent in 2013. During the 2014 postseason, Hauschka went 8-8 on field goals en route to a Super Bowl championship.
“I think there are so many aspects to his story that make him unique,” Nadeau said. “He’s finally landed. And he’s really made a name for himself ... The fact that he also was a neuroscience major at Middlebury who wanted to become a dentist makes the story that much more interesting.”
“I could be wrong,” Ritter said, “but I think he got into Harvard Dental School ... So he had some options ... That’s what I find so intriguing, to get cut, to not make it, to go to the UFL for a year ... some of those guys in that league have to do that because this is the only paycheck they’re going to get ... but he obviously had some options, and stayed with it, and I’m glad it’s paid off for him.”
(04/09/14 2:58pm)
The Middlebury softball team began its season in Clermont, Florida over spring break and returned to the northeast with a 6-6 record. After defeating conference rival Amherst in the team’s first NESCAC series, the Panthers are second in the NESCAC West standings.
Middlebury split its first doubleheader of the season by losing to Wellesley in the season opener 14-3 and then shutting out SUNY Potsdam 10-0. Jackie Stern ’16 and Kelsey Martel ’15 each had three hits on the day. Erin Giles ’17 (4 IP, 2 H, 2BB, 3 K) and Neve Stearns ’16 (1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K) combined for the shutout in the night cap.
Middlebury split again on day two of its trip, topping Concordia (Wisc.) 7-5 in eight innings and losing to Wisconsin-Whitewater in a 3-1 barn burner. In the first game of the twinbill, Concordia knotted the score at 4 in the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings. The Panthers pushed three across in the eighth to secure the win. The second game of the doubleheader was even more exciting. The game remained scoreless through seven innings. Wisc.-Whitewater finally plated a run in the top of the eighth. In accordance with the tie-breaking rule, Alex Scibetta ’14 began the bottom of the eighth on second base, and was singled home by Kimber Sable ’14 to tie the ball game. Unfortunately, Middlebury allowed two runs in the ninth and could not score any runs in the bottom half. Stearns pitched eight innings of one-run ball in the contest.
The Panthers rattled off two wins on Monday, March 24 against Lawrence, 11-7, and St. Catherine, 8-1. Sable gathered three hits and three RBIs in the first game, while Sarah Freyre ’17 carried the offense with two hits and RBIs in the latter game.
Middlebury continued its winning ways with an easy 14-3 victory over Rochester Institute on Wednesday, March 26. Stern and double-play partner Hye-Jin Kim ’17 each gathered three hits in the blowout. Later in the day, the Panthers lost a tight 4-3 battle to Elmhurst despite a two-hit effort from Freyre and four effective innings from Stearns in relief.
On Thursday, March 27, Middlebury bested NESCAC East competitor Colby 4-0. Lizzy Morris ’14 and Stearns combined for the shutout, with Morris getting her third win and Stearns her second save of the young season.
The trip ended on a sour note however, as Middlebury dropped their final three games in Florida. Later in the day on Thursday, Luther College bested the Panthers by a score of 8-1. The following day, Middlebury dropped a pair, starting with a 9-2 loss against Chicago and culminating in a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Lawrence.
After a handful of rainouts, Middlebury traveled to western Massachusetts to battle the Amherst Lord Jeffs in the teams’ first conference series of the season. The Panthers claimed the series opener on Friday, April 4 with a 1-0 victory. Morris was dominant, throwing a no-hitter and earning her fourth win of the year. The lefty struck out five and walked one.
“I also had no idea it was going on until the game was over,” Morris said of the no-hitter, “I didn’t feel any different than I do before any other game physically, but I was aware that winning our first NESCAC game was crucial for our morale.”
Middlebury was victorious again in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader by a score of 4-1, as Stearns allowed just one run through four innings and Morris followed up her dazzling performance from the day before with three shutout innings for the save. The Lord Jeffs finally got the best of the Panthers with a 6-1 win in the nightcap, as Middlebury managed just six hits and committed three errors.
“Winning the series this weekend put us into a great spot in-conference and we’re excited,” Morris said, “but I think that we’re also conscious that we need to continue to work hard in order to meet our potential for this season.”
The Panthers continue their NESCAC schedule with a series against Wesleyan at home this weekend.
(03/05/14 11:44pm)
The men’s basketball season ended in disappointment with a 78-75 loss in the NESCAC semifinals against Williams on Saturday, March 1.
Knowing they needed a win to extend their season, the Panthers had arguably their best offensive first half of the season, scoring 50 points against the number-nine Ephs. Middlebury could not keep up its hot shooting from the first half after the break, however, and Williams outscored the Panthers by 14 in the second half to win the game.
This season will be the first since 2006-2007 that Middlebury will not compete in the NCAA tournament. After starting the season 6-5, the Panthers partially righted the ship and finished 17-9. Of those final four losses, three came by a total of eight points, and two of those came at the hands of Williams.
All season long, the Panthers seemed to be plagued by an inability to close out halftime leads, a blemish to which Head Coach Jeff Brown admitted.
“The biggest thing for us was really not having tremendous balance as an offensive team,” Jeff Brown said. “At times, when things cranked up and we got into more of a half court team, we really lacked the close to the basket attack that would get us to the free throw line and get some easy baskets.”
In the Williams game, the two teams battled neck-and-neck for much of the first half. With 6:43 remaining in the game a Hayden Rooke-Ley three-pointer gave Williams a four-point advantage. Rooke-Ley was inactive the last time these two teams met, but the senior guard had a major impact in this contest, scoring 14 points off the bench.
“He’s a very tough competitor,” Jeff Brown said, “He’s able to drive the ball to the basket. More importantly, defensively, he’s really a hard-nosed, competitive player, and I think his presence on the floor certainly made a difference for them over the stretch run.”
Michael Mayer, Williams’ all-conference center, established his dominance early in the contest, sinking three of the Ephs’ first four shots. Mayer finished the night with a game-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds.
“Williams’ philosophy offensively is to run their offense through their five-man,” Jeff Brown said, “and he’s an ideal player for that style because he can pass…and post-up with an array of offensive moves.”
After the triple from Rooke-Ley, things started to roll for the Panthers, who finished the first half on a 20-5 run, with the only Williams’ points coming from Mayer. Captain Joey Kizel ’14 had an astounding 19 first-half points. Dylan Sinnickson ’15 also had a big first half, scoring nine, while Jake Brown ’17 chipped in seven off the bench.
All told, Middlebury shot 64.5 percent from the floor and 71.4 percent from deep, where Kizel went 5-6, in the first half, far outpacing Williams’ still-impressive 42.4 percent shooting from the floor and 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Last time these two teams met, Middlebury held a 16-point lead at halftime, but a significant decline in outside shooting from the Panthers and Williams’ ability to make a lot of free throws down the stretch combined to allow the Ephs to pull away for a three-point win. The story was much the same on Saturday. Middlebury shot just 28.6 percent from the floor and 18.2 percent from deep in the second half, while Williams got to the charity stripe 22 times in the second half and hit 18 free throws.
“They increased their defensive pressure [in the second half] and really kind of controlled us,” Jeff Brown said. “I think the biggest factor was the differential from the free throw line.”
“We didn’t make any defensive adjustments at the half and Williams clearly did because we only scored 25 second half points,” Matt Daley ’16 said. “They didn’t allow us to get open looks from three point land because we hit 10 in the first half.”
Sinnickson made a lay-up to open the second half and extended the Panthers’ lead to 13, but Williams consistently chipped away over the next 13 minutes, finally tying the contest at 64-64 on a pair of Mayer free throws with 7:27 remaining.
Down two with just over a minute remaining, Middlebury ran a poor offensive possession, but James Jensen ’14 kept the Panthers’ hopes alive by knocking down an uncharacteristic jumper, tying the game at 73-73.
A foul on the ensuing possession led to a pair of free throws from Rooke-Ley. Kizel then missed a three-pointer and – after Jensen committed the necessary foul – Williams first-year Duncan Robinson made it a three-point game by hitting 1-2 free throws. On the other end, Kizel forced a foul from Rooke-Ley, who appeared to commit the foul unintentionally, but the move worked out for Williams because it took away the opportunity for Kizel to attempt a game-tying three-pointer.
Kizel hit both of his free throws to draw within one before a pair of free throws extended the Williams lead back to three. On the final possession, Kizel had just six seconds to bring the ball up the floor, and could only muster a deep, contested three-pointer that did not find the net.
“Saturday’s game looked very similar to most of the games we played this year,” Daley said. “Unfortunately that is what happens when you rely almost entirely on the three point shot...This was a trend that will not continue next year.”
Kizel leaves the basketball program with 1493 career points, good for fourth all-time on the Middlebury scoring list, just five behind Kevin Kelleher ’80. Additionally, Kizel exits as the all-time leader in three-point percentage and free throw percentage.
The responsibility of filling the void left by Kizel next year will fall to Jake Brown, who saw extensive minutes as the team’s point guard this season.
“He certainly showed during the stretch run that he’s capable of running the team,” Jeff Brown said, “We’re really high on his potential next year to energize our offense and also to be able to score some points himself.”
As a class, the team’s six seniors – Kizel, Jensen, Jack Roberts ’14, Nate Bulluck ’14, Albert Nascimento ’14 and Luis Alvarez ’14 – finish with a 96-19 record overall, 31-8 in the NESCAC, four NESCAC tournament appearances, three NCAA tournament appearances and one NESCAC championship.
Jeff Brown looked back fondly on what the class of ’14 has accomplished.
“A tremendous amount of effort and unselfishness with the group,” Jeff Brown said, “Jack and James, probably two of our best defensive players on this year’s team, really did a lot of the quiet stuff in the background for the program. They are just a real, real special group.”
(02/26/14 9:16pm)
Middlebury (17-8, 6-4) kept its season alive with an 81-75 defeat of the Hamilton College Continentals (14-11, 5-5) in Pepin Gymnasium on Saturday, Feb. 22. The game marked the eighth straight season in which Middlebury had hosted a NESCAC playoff game by earning one of the top four seeds by virtue of its regular season performance. Hamilton, meanwhile, competed in the NESCAC tournament for just the second time.
Middlebury will play number eight Williams College in the semifinals to be hosted by Amherst College, the top seed. Middlebury played Williams at home on Friday, Jan. 31 in what was possibly the most gut-wrenching defeat of the season. Leading the Ephs, who were ranked 11th in the nation at the time, by 16 at halftime, Middlebury struggled defensively in the second half en route to a 64-61 loss.
In a similar fashion, the Panthers had a large first half lead on Saturday against Hamilton. The contest was neck-and-neck for the first five minutes, when Hamilton forward Bradley Gifford put the Continentals up one with 15:01 remaining in the first half. After Hunter Merryman ’15 knocked down a three-pointer, one of his three treys in a team-leading 17-point effort, Middlebury took the lead and never relinquished its advantage. The Panthers outscored Hamilton 32-20 in the remainder of the first half to take a 13-point advantage into halftime up 46-33. Middlebury did especially well on the boards, leading the Continentals 20-12 in that department.
With the memory of many early second half letdowns looming, Middlebury opened the latter 20 minutes with a 15-6 run, capped off by an awe-inspiring alley-oop from Joey Kizel ’14 to Dylan Sinnickson ’15 who threw the ball through the iron with two hands to the excitement of the Pepin crowd.
The wind seemed to escape the Panthers’ sails after the Sinnickson flourish, however. The Continentals retaliated with 12 straight points to make it 61-51 in favor of Middlebury. The margin hovered around 10 until the last two minutes. In the final 2:05 of the game, Middlebury went 6-11 from the free throw line, almost handing the game over to Hamilton. With the Panthers clinging to a four-point lead, Merryman hauled down the rebound on a missed three-pointer from sophomore Continental guard Matt Hart, who scored 30 points in these teams’ last meeting, with ten seconds on the clock. Merryman passed the ball to Kizel, who was fouled and clinched the victory by making both free throws.
As a team, the Panthers were very efficient from the floor, shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 56.2 percent from beyond the arc, but only 69.6 percent from the line. Merryman added four rebounds to his outstanding offensive performance. Kizel tallied 14 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals to go along with the aforementioned game-clinching free throws. Sinnickson went 5-11 from the field for 12 points and added five rebounds.
The rest of the starting lineup, James Jensen ’14 and Jack Roberts ’14, combined for 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two block and a steal. Jake Nidenberg ’16 and Dean Brierley ’15 each played tremendously off the bench, adding six and five points respectively. Jake Brown ’17 had a major impact despite not lighting up the stat sheet, tallying just five points. However, the first-year guard logged 29 minutes and did the majority of the work locking down Hart, who went 4-11 for 11 points, the NESCAC’s leading scorer during the regular season.
“Going into this game Coach told me I’d be seeing a lot of minutes on [Hart],” Brown said. “He is a tremendous player that can do almost everything. Guarding him was tough, and I think he ranks among the top guards in the league.”
The Panthers need to beat Williams and follow that up with a win in the NESCAC tournament championship over the winner of the game between Amherst, ranked seventh in the nation, and fifth-seeded Trinity, who upset Bowdoin 71-67 in the first three overtime game in NESCAC tournament history on Saturday, Feb. 22, in order to make their seventh straight NCAA tournament.
“This Saturday’s game against Williams is going to be awesome,” Brown said. “A lot of emotion and energy will be in the gym and we need to play 40 minutes of basketball.”
(02/19/14 3:57pm)
It was the best of times and the worst of times for the men’s basketball team (16-8, 6-4) last weekend. The Panthers entered the final weekend of NESCAC play with their playoff plans far from settled, needing to win at least one of two final road matchups – against Trinity on Friday, Feb. 14 and Amherst on Sunday, Feb. 16 – in order to host a playoff game.
With the Panthers claiming a 53-45 victory over Trinity on Friday and both Bowdoin and Hamilton dropping conference games on the same night, Middlebury locked up the third seed for the NESCAC tournament and a home-court in the first round. By Sunday night, however, Middlebury had suffered an 84-67 defeat at top-seeded Amherst, a loss that did not injure the Panthers’ seeding but does not bode well for the team’s NESCAC championship hopes and NCAA tournament prospects.
Trinity (14-10, 5-5) boasts the NESCAC’s second-stingiest defense and nation’s second-highest rebounding margin, and held Middlebury to their fewest points scored in a win all season in the Panthers’ 53-45 victory.
Both teams had ugly shooting nights. Middlebury shot 33 percent from the field, the same percentage from beyond the arc and 59 percent from the free throw line, stats that the Bantams were not even able to match.
Trinity, meanwhile, shot a measly 30 percent from the field, 11 percent from deep and 50 percent from the charity stripe.
“We struggled a little bit offensively against Trinity,” Head Coach Jeff Brown said. “We were very fortunate that we defended them really well and we were able to get a little bit of a lead and a cushion. We showed a lot of grit and a lot of toughness on the defensive end.”
The Bantams took a 4-3 lead less than four minutes into the game, but two free throws from Dylan Sinnickson ’15 gave Middlebury the lead, and the Panthers never looked back. Middlebury finished the first half on a 7-0 run, paced by Joey Kizel ’14 who hit a three-pointer and finished a lay-up, sandwiched around a lay-up from Hunter Merryman ’15.
Middlebury then opened the second half on an 8-0 run with a pair of threes from Sinnickson and Merryman and two free throws from Kizel, giving the Panthers their largest lead at 36-17 with 16:28 remaining.
The Bantams cut the deficit to six in the last minute of the contest, but missed a three-point attempt with 31 seconds remaining. Kizel corralled the rebound, and James Jensen ’14 knocked down two free throws to make it a 53-45 game to seal the victory.
Kizel paced the Panthers, recording a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and logged 38 minutes on the floor. Merryman was also effective, adding five boards to his 12 points. Jack Roberts ’14 made life difficult for the Bantams, rejecting five attempts.
On Sunday afternoon in LeFrak Gymnasium, the Lord Jeffs of Amherst (21-3, 9-1) protected their home court from the visiting Panthers, outscoring Middlebury by 21 points in the second half en route to an 84-67 win.
Middlebury actually surprised seventh-ranked Amherst in the first half and entered the break up 34-30. Again, the Panthers struggled from the field in the first 20 minutes, making just 2-12 three-pointers, but dominated the boards (24 to Amherst’s 17) and shot 86 percent from the line to keep the Lord Jeffs at bay. Kizel had a strong first half, posting nine points and six boards.
The second half opened inauspiciously for the Panthers, who turned over the ball just five seconds in. Amherst’s All-American guard Aaron Toomey – relegated to just seven minutes in the first half due to foul trouble – took over in the second half with 17 points.
Combined, the Lord Jeffs made 67 percent of their shots in the second half and knocked down eight three-pointers. The Panthers again shot poorly in the second period, hitting just 36 percent of their chances. Sinnickson got hot in the second 20 minutes, scoring 12 of his team-leading 18 points after the break, but it was too little too late for Middlebury.
“They really kind of kicked it up a notch,” Brown said. ”They exploited us a little bit with their transition offense. We just really struggled to capture the momentum we had at the end of the first half.”
The game sealed home-court advantage throughout the conference tournament for Amherst, who will host the semifinals and finals as long as they win their first-round matchup with the Colby Mules on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Middlebury will host a quarterfinal matchup against Hamilton on the same day, a team which beat the Panthers just three weeks ago.
“I think it begins and ends with [Hamilton sophomore] Matt Hart,” Brown said, “He’s going to be at the forefront of our preparation this week. I think we’re going to try several different people, certainly James Jensen being one of them, to try to slow him and try to get him out of rhythm a little bit.”
If the Panthers win against Hamilton, they will travel to Amherst with a chance to play their way into the NCAA tournament by winning the conference playoffs. Barring a NESCAC title, Middlebury will likely miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006-2007.
Brown does not fear a return to Amherst College or anywhere else that the finals may be played.
“I feel good about it,” Brown said, “I feel equally confident playing on the road as opposed to playing at home.”
(02/12/14 7:19pm)
The Panthers split their four conference matchups sandwiching February break, dropping a home game against Williams and a road game at Hamilton, over the weekend of Feb. 1. However, the following weekend the Panthers rebounded with two victories at home against Colby and Bowdoin on Feb. 7 and 9. In between, Middlebury took to the road and bested Keene State on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
Middlebury played possibly its most impressive half of basketball all season against eleventh-ranked Williams, scoring 41 points and holding the Ephs to just 25 first-half points. Hunter Merryman ’15 opened the scoring for the Panthers, hitting his first three shots and tallying 11 points in the first 13 minutes of play.
The fast pace early favored the Panthers, who shot 50 percent from the field in the opening half, torching the Ephs’ mixture of 2-3, 1-3-1 and man-to-man defenses.
Dylan Sinnickson ’15 led Middlebury with 12 points on 4-5 shooting from behind the arc in the first half, many of those looks coming off of pick-and-roll sets with Joey Kizel ’14, a play that the rest of the NESCAC has yet to effectively defend.
“The Williams game was a tale of two halves,” Head Coach Jeff Brown said. “Offensively we attacked their 2-3 zone very effectively, but we weren’t as successful against their man-to-man defense in the second [half].”
After the break, Williams began to cut into the Middlebury lead on the strength of its three-point shooting. Senior forward Taylor Epley made a handful of threes from NBA range, a shot that NESCAC Freshman of the Year candidate Duncan Robinson replicated. Trailing by three with five seconds left, the Panthers ran an in-bounds play from the sideline to get Sinnickson a three-point look, but his shot was contested and bounced off the iron, giving Williams the victory.
In Coach Brown’s record-setting 434th game as head coach, Middlebury lost to Hamilton College on a last-second jumper on the road on Sunday, Feb. 2. Assistant Coach Russ Riley, who preceded Brown, led the Panthers from 1978-97 and previously held the record.
The Panthers were hamstrung by poor shooting in the first half, hitting only 10-33 shots from the field, while the Continentals poured it in at a nearly 42 percent clip, taking a five point lead into the half.
Hamilton opened the second half of play on a 12-3 run to go up by 14. The Continentals were carried in the second half by sophomore guard Matt Hart, who scored 21 of his game-high 30 points after the intermission. Toward the end of the contest, Hart hit three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to give Hamilton the lead.
“When a player gets hot like that the only way to stop him is to not even let him touch the ball,” James Jensen ’14 said, “I think it was pretty clear to everyone in the gym who Hamilton wanted to take the last shot of the game.”
Kizel tied the game with two free throws with 29 seconds remaining. On the following possession, Jensen denied Hart the ball, forcing Hamilton senior Greg Newton to take the final shot. Newton made the go-ahead bucket with six seconds left, giving the Continentals a 76-74 lead. Middlebury was unable to get a clean look at the basket on the other end, Newton’s shot thus sealing the contest in favor of Hamilton.
Kizel racked up 19 of his 22 points in the second half on 5-10 shooting (8-9 FT), including nine points in the final three and a half minutes. Merryman, Matt St. Amour ’17 and Jensen joined Kizel in scoring double figures for the Panthers.
The Panthers celebrated the class of 2014 on senior night at home against Colby with a convincing 85-64 victory on Friday, Feb. 7. Heading into the game, both teams had three wins in the conference, so the win brought Middlebury one step closer to hosting a first-round NESCAC tournament game.
After the ceremonies concluded, Kizel poured in 30 points, matching a career high. The senior guard was successful hitting threes in transition, and nearly earned a double-double, racking up nine assists to go along with five rebounds and two steals.
Jack Roberts ’14 led the Panthers with seven boards. Sinnickson aided the Panther attack with 20 points and six rebounds.
Middlebury took a 5-2 lead 2:17 into the first half and never looked back.
“The Colby game was the first time this year where we played two great halves and really put a team away,” Sinnickson said. “That’s the only way games are won.”
Middlebury played its last regular season home game against Bowdoin and squeaked out a 69-66 victory on Sunday, Feb. 9. Both teams impressed offensively in the first half, and the lead never stretched beyond five points either way in the first 20 minutes. The Panthers shot 48.1 percent in the first half, but were outshot by the Polar Bears, who shot 52.2 percent.
Roberts, who stands 6’8”, had a tall order on Sunday afternoon, drawing John Swords, Bowdoin’s seven-foot center. Swords is the most efficient scorer in the NESCAC, shooting at a 70.1 percent clip, and averaging 13.8 points per game to go along with 9.2 rebounds per game.
“Covering someone that size is always difficult,” Roberts said. “We had a plan to limit his touches and we executed it well.”
Swords surpassed his averages with 16 points and 13 rebounds on Sunday, but Roberts did a great job of fronting Swords and limiting his open looks at the hoop. Roberts was one of four Panthers in double figures (10), joining Jensen (10), Sinnickson (18) and Kizel (19).
With his seventh point of the afternoon, with 12:21 remaining in the first half, Kizel moved into fifth place on the Middlebury all-time scoring list, passing Ryan Sharry ’12. Kizel, with 1424 career points, is 75 points away from reaching third place on that list. John Humphrey ’88 is the all-time career scoring leader with 1844 points.
Middlebury’s largest lead came with 18:45 in the second half when a three-pointer from Sinnickson put the Panthers up by eight. The game remained close to the bitter end. Both teams traded free throws down the stretch, until Jensen went 1-2 with :08 left to give Middlebury a 66-63 lead. Bowdoin called a timeout, its last, with :05 left, giving the Polar Bears an inbounds place from the sideline. The ball came in to Matt Mathias who found his teammate Grant White in the left corner. White drained a three-pointer with :02 on the clock to tie the game.
The Bowdoin bench tried to call a timeout, but with its final timeout having been used seconds earlier, the Polar Bears were dealt an administrative technical foul.
“The whistle blew and I wasn’t sure what was going on,” Brown said.
Kizel made three free throws down the stretch, and Jensen blocked the last-second heave from Mathias, sealing the Panthers victory.
Between the two weekends of NESCAC play, the Panthers picked up 92-86 road win at Keene State on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in which Sinnickson recorded a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Kizel had 23 points of his own, Merryman had 14 points to go along with six boards, and Jensen tallied 10 points.
Unfortunately, the win came at a significant cost. St. Amour tore his right ACL in the first half, ending his season. St. Amour played in 20 games, starting nine, and averaging 9.2 points per game.
Middlebury will finish conference play this coming weekend with road games at Trinity and Amherst. The Panthers currently sit in third in the NESCAC, and a win in either game will secure a home game in the first round of the NESCAC tournament.
(02/12/14 7:13pm)
The Middlebury women’s hockey team kept its unbeaten streak alive through the end of February break; the women have yet to suffer a defeat through 14 games
The Panthers defeated Bowdoin on Friday, Jan. 24 before tying the Polar Bears on the following afternoon. Middlebury then took two on the road at Hamilton on Friday, Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1. Middlebury played a mid-week game at home against Utica and won in a nail-biter, 5-4. Last weekend, on Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8, Middlebury outscored Conn. College 6-2 in two wins.
Katie Sullivan ’15 opened the scoring for the Panthers 5:01 into the second period in their first meeting with Bowdoin, which Middlebury won 4-0. One minute and forty-two seconds later, the Panthers’ lead had stretched to 3-0. Sara Ugalde ’14 netted a power play goal with help from Emily Fluke ’15, followed by a second goal from Sullivan. With 13:14 remaining in the third, a shot from Julia Wardwell ’16 was tipped home by Katie Mandigo ’16 for the game’s final goal.
Middlebury’s offense was less explosive on Saturday, Jan. 25 when the Panthers and Polar Bears fought to a draw. Bowdoin took the 1-0 lead halfway through the game on a rebound off of Annabelle Jones ’15, who had 28 saves and has yet to suffer a defeat this season. Jennifer Krakower ’14 scored the equalizer less than a minute into the third period while on a power play.
On Friday, Jan. 31, Middlebury dominated Hamilton in their first meeting. The Panthers recorded their fifth shutout of the season and outshot the Continentals 34-11. Middlebury was the beneficiary of ten power plays, scoring all three goals while on the man advantage. Mandigo, Fluke and Sullivan each tallied a score.
The next day’s matchup between the two squads was more hotly contested, though Middlebury again prevailed, this time 3-2 in overtime. The Panthers took advantage of their power play opportunities, as they had the day before. With 14:20 left on the clock in the second period, Fluke gathered a carom off the boards and knocked it in for the 1-0 lead. Minutes later, a slap shot from Laura McConney ’15 found the back of the net. Hamilton scored on a breakaway late in the second period, and tied the game with just over five minutes left to play in regulation. Seventeen seconds into overtime, Fluke tossed a backhander on net that the Continentals’ goalie seemed to cover up, but the puck squirted through for the game-winner.
More Fluke heroics were on display on Tuesday, Feb. 4 in the Panthers’ defeat of a visiting Utica squad. Utica took an early two-goal lead, but Krakower cut that lead in half late in the first period. After a power play goal from Utica, Krakower again responded with her own score on the power play, off of assists from Carly Watson ’17 and Ugalde, making it a 3-2 game. Pam Schulman ’17 tied the game when she netted her own rebound in the last minute of the third period. Two goals from Fluke after the second intermission made it a 5-3 Middlebury advantage. Utica found the back of the net once more, but in the end the Panthers were victorious by a score of 5-4.
Middlebury’s first meeting with Conn. College on Friday, Feb. 7 saw multiple shots in the period’s final seconds. Conn. opened the scoring with 4.7 seconds left in the first period. Anna Van Kula ’16 tipped home a shot from Victoria Laven ’17 to tie the game in the second period. Fluke sent Middlebury into the second intermission with a 2-1 lead by finishing a rebound on a shot from Watson. After the Camels tied the game in the third, with time winding down, Ugalde scored the game-winner with :57 remaining in the contest.
Middlebury shut out the Camels the following day, 3-0. Mackenzie Martin ’15 scored the first Panther goal. Teammates Sullivan and Fluke added to the scoring, securing the fourth shutout of the season for Jones.
Back on the ice for a matchup with rival Plattsburgh on Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Panthers hit a roadblock that they could not overcome, falling 5-2 to the host Cardinals. While Middlebury jumped ahead early with a first-period goal from Jane Freda ’17, Plattsburgh came roaring back with a trio of second-period goals to seize the lead. Jennifer Krakower added a late power-play goal for the Panthers – who were outshot 28-7 in the second and third periods – in the losing effort.
(01/23/14 6:21am)
Middlebury squeaked out two conferences wins over the weekend by a total of five points, then hammered Johnson State on the road in a 95-65 victory on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
For the second straight year, 40 minutes were not enough to decide the outcome between the Panthers and the Wesleyan Cardinals. Last year, Middlebury won by a single point in an overtime thriller at Pepin Gymnasium. This year’s game on Friday, Jan. 17, ended in a 77-75 double-overtime victory for Middlebury. On Sunday, Jan. 19, the Panthers did not lead the game until a last-second three from Dylan Sinnickson ’15 gave them a 64-61 advantage over the Connecticut College Camels. Head coach Brown was not discouraged by how close both games were.
“Thinking back to last season, we won three of our [first] four NESCAC games by a total of six points. So in reality, it’s not much different than it was a year ago when we had tremendous success within the league and in the postseason,” coach Brown said.
The Panthers landed in Middletown, Conn. hoping to continue their NESCAC winning streak begun last Sunday in the home victory over Tufts.
Last weekend, the team’s first against NESCAC competition, Panthers fans welcomed the return of Sinnickson, who pleased the crowd with two stellar games, averaging 23.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks on the weekend. His performance against Bates earned him a slot in the starting lineup against Tufts, and his consistency last weekend gave coach Brown reason to start Sinnickson again on Friday.
“He has increased his range and is shooting the ball extremely well from the three-point line,” coach Brown said. “He is playing at a high level for us.”
Sinnickson showed off his shooting ability against Wesleyan, hitting on six of 12 three-pointers, tallying 18 points to go along with six rebounds, helping to give the Panthers a heart-stopping double overtime victory.
“Heading into my sophomore year I developed a three-point shot,” Sinnickson said. “It was not a part of my game at all my freshman year, but now it is a strength.”
Not to be outdone, captain Joey Kizel ’14 matched Sinnickson with 18 points, just missing his first double-double of the season with nine assists, and was a horse in the marathon-like contest, logging 44 minutes.
Some of Kizel’s points came in huge moments. After knocking down a jumper with under three minutes to play in regulation to tie the game, Kizel one-upped himself in the first overtime when he drilled a long-range three-pointer with 20 seconds on the clock to knot the game at 67 apiece. In the second overtime, a big three and two free throws from Kizel helped the Panthers hold on for a victory. Kizel finished with 12 overtime points.
“I don’t think that I have ever coached a player who has made as many big shots when the game is on the line [as Kizel] … He wants the ball when the game is on the line,” coach Brown said.
The Cardinals had last-shot opportunities at the end of all three periods. At the end of regulation, Wesleyan ran an in-bounds play from under the basket but missed the buzzer beater. Good defense by the Panthers stopped the Cardinals from getting a good look at the end of the first overtime. Finally, in the second overtime, on the Panthers’ penultimate possession, Matt St. Amour ’17 hit 1-2 free throws, giving Middlebury a 75-73 lead. After a Wesleyan lay-up to tie the game, St. Amour drew a foul to go to the line. The first-year hit both this time, securing a 77-75 win.
“It’s the situation any basketball player dreams about, at the free throw line with the game on the line,” St. Amour said. “It was great to be in that spot and be able to come through for the team. Everyone battled hard, and it was a gutsy team win.”
Coach Brown applauded the first-year’s improvement at this point in the season.
“Matt plays a pretty complete game,” coach Brown said. “His individual and team defense have continued to improve. He has good court awareness and is blending well with his teammates.”
The Panthers completed their trip to Connecticut on Sunday with a thrilling 64-61 win over Conn. College. Staying hot from beyond the arch, Sinnickson, the Panthers’ high-scorer with 22, drained a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining off of a pick and roll with Kizel to seal the win. Sinnickson would finish the game 4-8 from three-point land.
“I knew we were going to get a good shot off that play,” Kizel said. “I thought I was going to be open, but they switched onto me so I passed to Dylan. He made a clean catch and he hit a huge shot.”
“We really have leaned a lot on the two-man game between Dylan and Joey ... It’s just very hard to defend the two of them,” Coach Brown said. “Throughout the course of the game we’ve run that play many times with great success.”
Kizel scored 16 in the win, the only player besides Sinnickson to reach double digits for Middlebury, and filled up the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sinnickson added 10 rebounds on the night, earning a double-double.
The Camels opened the contest on a 10-0 run, and did not trail the game until Sinnickson’s deciding three-pointer.
“I felt like our guys were ready to go,” coach Brown said. “[Conn.] hit a couple of shots right at the start of the game. I’m just not real sure why we got off to such a slow start. We’re struggling with the lack of presence inside to get some easy baskets to kind of loosen up the perimeter a little bit.”
The Panthers got help on the offensive end from up and down the roster, with nine different players registering a bucket. St. Amour shot well from the line (6-7 FT), and finished with eight points. Bryan Jones ’17 saw action for the second time this year and was productive in four minutes, knocking down his only shot, a three-pointer, and ripping down two rebounds. James Jensen ’14 tied the game at 61-61 with 1:34 remaining off of a full-court heave from Kizel.
“We need to get better contributions from the whole group,” coach Brown said. “A piece of that … is really trying to get out in transition so that in those situations we can get lay-ups and get some scoring at the rim.”
The in-state matchup with Johnson St. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, was tight for the first six minutes of play, with both teams shooting particularly well. However, from that point forward, Middlebury proceeded to widen the gap. The Panthers shot 55 percent from the field for the game, including 11-22 from deep, matching a season high in three-pointers.
Sinnickson led the Panthers in scoring with 20 and added five rebounds. Hunter Merryman ’16 had an efficient day, hitting six of seven shots, all of three his attempts from beyond the arc and finished with 17 points. Kizel and Jack Roberts ’14 also scored in double digits, with 11 and 10 respectively.
Middlebury returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 23, with a home matchup with St. Joseph’s. After taking the weekend off, NESCAC play will resume for the Panthers when they host Williams on Friday, Jan. 31.
(01/16/14 4:14am)
The men’s basketball team (8-5 overall, 1-1 in NESCAC) went into winter break on a high note with a nail-biting 89-84 victory at Skidmore, but the long layoff did not favor the Panthers, who opened 2014 with three straight losses, including the NESCAC opener on Friday, Jan. 10 against Bates. Middlebury then captured its first NESCAC victory with an impressive defeat of a young and athletic Tufts team 80-66 on Saturday, Jan. 11, and followed-up that performance with a convincing victory over a struggling Lyndon State squad with an 81-69 win on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Following two sloppy losses against out-of-conference opponents, Middlebury opened NESCAC play at home this past weekend. The Panthers had not lost to Bates since Feb., 2007, but suffered a 64-61 defeat on Friday night. Shots consistently fell for Middlebury in the first half, who took a 36-25 lead at halftime after making six three-pointers and shooting 45 percent from the field.
Prior to the game, Coach Jeff Brown spoke about Dylan Sinnickson ’15, who was poised to return from a personal leave of absence.
“We expect for Dylan to contribute, and in terms of how much, it will really depend on the performance,” Brown said.
Sinnickson rewarded his coach’s decision, exploding off the bench for 17 first-half points on 6-10 shooting, including three of four from beyond the arc.
Despite shooting just 24 percent from the floor in the second half, Middlebury maintained their lead as Bates bailed out the hosts with multiple fouls early in the second half, and 15 personal fouls total after halftime. As a result, the Bobcats (8-4, 1-0) worked tirelessly to cut into the Panthers’ lead. With less than five minutes to play, a missed layup on the Panther end resulted in a dunk for impressive Bates center Malcolm Delpeche to draw the Bobcats within one. On the ensuing Panther possession, another missed layup in traffic gave the ball back to the visitors. The crowd cried for a foul and the volume in Pepin Gymnasium reached a crescendo as the Panthers settled in to protect their one point lead. However, Delpeche made his presence felt again with a follow-up lay-in on the other end to put the Bobcats ahead 54-53.
Trailing by one at the 2:30 mark, captain Joey Kizel ’14 knocked down a free throw to tie the ball game at 56. Kizel, an 82 percent free throw shooter on the season, uncharacteristically missed the second, but the Panthers came out of the crowd underneath the basket with possession and Kizel knocked down a go-ahead three-pointer. On the other end, Adam Philpott retaliated with a three of his own. And then, with 10 seconds remaining, Bates’ leading scorer and co-captain Graham Safford drilled a back-breaking three. The Bates 64-61 victory was sealed when Kizel missed an off-balance three-point attempt of his own as time expired.
Sinnickson finished as the game’s leading scorer with 23 points, and attributed his performance to increased concentration.
“I was very focused heading into this weekend,” he said. “We were struggling prior to Bates and Tufts, but I think we have turned the corner,” Sinnickson said.
Kizel managed 12 of his own, primarily by getting to the line (7-11), and dragged down seven rebounds.
The Panthers played a much more complete game on Sunday against a freshman-laden Tufts (7-6, 0-1) team. With the Jumbos getting two experienced guards back from injury just in time to meet the Panthers, Sunday’s match-up provided a stiffer challenge than Tufts’ record would have suggested. However, Middlebury’s dead-eye shooting throughout made the difference. The Panthers shot at a 51 percent clip from the field, 47 percent from deep and 81 percent from the charity stripe, where Brown’s team has been inconsistent on the year.
The first half featured fast-paced basketball and dominant post-play by Tufts’ first-year big man Hunter Sabety, who was perfect from the field, making all eight of his first-half attempts and adding three boards. Hunter Merryman ’15 led the Panthers in scoring at halftime, knocking down two three-pointers and tallying eight points. As a whole, the Jumbos dominated the first half rebounding battle, played tight perimeter defense and made quick substitutions to keep legs fresh in order to secure a three-point lead going into halftime.
With the game close five minutes into the second half, the physicality picked up when, after the whistle, Sabety slammed the ball through the hoop onto a sprawled Matt Daley ’16. The insult drew a shove from James Jensen ’14, which resulted in a technical for the senior forward and outrage from the Middlebury fans. A minute later, further physical play resulted in a double foul on Jensen and Tufts’ first-year forward Drew Madsen. The rough play meant that both teams were in the double bonus with more than eight minutes remaining, a development that favored Middlebury, as the Jumbos converted only 56 percent of their second half free throws. Both Madsen and Tufts’ junior guard Ben Ferris left the game early due to foul trouble.
The game remained tightly contested until the last two minutes, when a Daley three, followed by an old-fashioned three-point play by Matt St. Amour ’17 pushed the game out of reach as part of a 20-5 Middlebury run over the final 8:54 of the game.
The victory over Tufts halted the team’s first three game losing streak in eight seasons. In Middlebury’s first action of 2014, the Panthers dropped a road game at Salve Regina (9-4) after an eight hour bus ride due to inclement weather and only a 30-minute warm-up. Middlebury followed that by shooting an abysmal 28 percent at home against Plattsburgh St. (8-3) in a 63-47 loss, the team’s lowest scoring performance of the season.
Coach Brown believed that the team’s offense executed well against Plattsburgh, despite displeasing results.
“I think it really just sort of got contagious in that we missed some shots we normally make and we got tighter as the game went on, but in reviewing the game I think our offensive execution was pretty good,” Brown said.
After the two out-of-conference losses, Brown admitted that his team’s resolve had been challenged.
“I think our confidence has been shaken a little bit, not coming out of the gate strong in the second semester,” he said.
On the heels of the conference victory over Tufts, the Panthers traveled to Lyndonville, Vt. to take on in-state opponent Lyndon State.
The Panthers lead throughout, eventually closing out a 81-69 win. Merryman, Sinnickson, St. Amour and Jensen all scored in double digits, while Jack Roberts ‘14 lead the squad with eight rebounds.
Now sitting at 1-1 in conference, the Panthers will resume NESCAC play this coming weekend with road games at Wesleyan and Connecticut College.
(12/04/13 9:00pm)
The Middlebury men’s basketball team hoped to have plenty to be thankful for over the break with two games in the Hoopsville National Invitational Classic on Friday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 24. Unfortunately the Panthers fell short in both contests, first by being upset by the host Stevenson Mustangs on Friday, and then by dropping an overtime thriller against 10th-ranked St. Mary’s (Md.). The Stevenson loss was the program’s first pre-New Year’s defeat since 2008.
The Panthers rebounded on Sunday, Dec. 1, with a victory on the road against Rensselaer, 92-79, and added to their win total with a 90-80 defeat of Castleton St. at home on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Stevenson, who entered the game 1-0, disrupted the Panthers previously fluid offense and won the battle on the boards despite a disadvantage in height — grabbing 47 rebounds to Middlebury’s 42 and pulling down 19 on the offensive end. The Mustangs led 10-5 at the first stoppage in play and never looked back, dropping Middlebury to 2-1 with a 80-69 final score.
Captain Joey Kizel ’14 continued his slow start to the season. On the positive end, Kizel shot well from the line (7-8), a department in which the Panthers as a whole struggled (59.1 percent), and picked the Mustangs for six steals. Yet all that was not enough to make up for his 2-10 shooting from the floor and six turnovers.
The struggles continued for Vermont-native Matt St. Amour ’17 as well. In the starting lineup for the third consecutive game, St. Amour managed just two points on 0-6 shooting from the field.
Jake Brown ’17, in just his second game after missing the season’s first two contests due to injury, played a solid 25 minutes off the bench and handled the ball with poise. The newcomer gathered 14 points on 6-9 shooting to go along with five assists.
“I have a lot of confidence in Jake’s ability to lead our offense,” head coach Jeff Brown said. “[He] has made a quick adjustment to the college game.”
Hunter Merryman ’15 provided the team with an offensive spark. Since coming off the bench in the season opener, Merryman has started every game and has been a consistent scorer. On Friday, Merryman filled it up for 21 points on 8-17 shooting and 5-11 beyond the arc.
The Mustangs outplayed Middlebury physically and attacked the Panthers’ interior, forcing Kizel and others into foul trouble. Kizel fouled out late in the game, while some early whistles relegated Matt Daley ’16 to just 18 minutes in the contest.
Middlebury had a day to recover before squaring off with number 10 St. Mary’s.
Stepping into the starting lineup for St. Amour, Nate Bulluck ’14 had a great start to the game, scoring the Panthers first nine points and giving Middlebury a 9-4 lead. The Panthers led 34-31 at halftime, but with 10 minutes remaining St. Mary’s knotted the score at 52 all.
Kizel found his form in the game’s second half, particularly down the stretch, scoring 20 second half points on 6-10 shooting. With 1:30 left in the second, Kizel completed a three-point play to bring Middlebury within two. A minute later, Kizel went to the line down three and hit both free throws under pressure to make it a one-point game. After the subsequent foul, St. Mary’s hit both of its free throws, leaving the Panthers with 12.9 seconds to make up a three-point deficit. In classic fashion, Kizel knocked down a buzzer beater to send the game into overtime.
Responding well to his change of role, St. Amour played 29 strong minutes, tallying eight points, including a critical three points in overtime to give the Panthers a one point lead, followed on the next possession by two successful free throws.
Merryman played 39 minutes on the night, but did not have his typical solid shooting game. As the clock ticked down in the final second, Merryman got two looks from beyond the arc with a chance to tie the game once again and go to a second overtime period, but failed to tickle the twine, with the buzzer giving Middlebury the 81-78 loss.
For the second game in a row, Jake Nidenberg ’16 contributed significant minutes off the bench, scoring 12 points on 6-7 shooting in 23 minutes. Nidenberg seemed to be taking advantage of the void left by Dylan Sinnickson’s ’15 voluntary leave of absence and the injury of James Jensen ’14, who dressed for the first time on Sunday, but did not play.
“Jake has developed into a strong offensive post player,” the elder Brown said. “His ability to get us high percentage shots inside is his greatest asset.”
From the sideline, Brown looked for more positives despite the disappointing outcomes.
“I don’t view the two losses in Baltimore as a negative,” he said. “We had some bright spots in both games. Playing a strong non-league schedule on the road can be helpful going into the NESCAC schedule in January.”
The Panthers finally got back to their winning ways against the less-heralded RPI Engineers (0-4) on Sunday, Dec. 1, with a 92-79 win — improving to 3-2 on the year.
The Panthers led throughout most of the affair, though the outcome was in doubt until late in the second frame. With 4:28 left in the game, Middlebury led by just six, but their good day from the charity stripe (20-23) allowed them to seal the deal.
Brown, a promising first-year point guard, earned his first start of the season and distributed all game long, attempting just one shot but racking up six assists in 25 minutes. The first-year point guard did not know he would be counted on so heavily early on.
“Honestly, coming in I had no idea what to expect,” he said. “I think I can alleviate some of the pressure [Joey] faces every night. I knew I had an amazing opportunity playing with Joey so every chance I get I try and learn from his play.”
Brown believes he can be successful without scoring, as he was against RPI.
“I see myself as a pass first point guard that can score,” Brown said. “Setting up shots for Joey is a big part of our offense, so any time I can get him the ball I think it makes his job easier.”
Merryman returned to his scoring ways, hitting three shots from deep en route to a 23-point performance. Jensen saw his first action of the year, providing 17 high-energy minutes, 10 points, and three boards while also drawing a charge, earning the praise of coach Brown.
“Jensen adds a lot to our playing group,” coach Brown said. “After Joey he is our most experienced player. He is a tough matchup because of his mid-range game and his ability to drive to the basket.”
Nidenberg, again, shot well (6-12) in 16 minutes off the bench. Kizel, too, put together a strong stat line, with 14 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
On Tuesday, Dec. 3 the Panthers defeated in-state opponent Castleton St. (1-3). The Spartans one victory on the season was impressive, coming over WPI who was ranked ninth at the time.
Castleton came into the game shooting 34 percent from behind the arc, but rode strong three-point shooting in this match-up to an early lead, and finished shooting 50 percent from deep.
Castleton St. took a one point lead into halftime, shooting 57.1 percent from the field in the first period and knocking down seven threes, but the Panthers’ significant rebounding advantage (22-12 in the first half) and the performance of Jensen kept it close. Jensen finished the game with a career-best 22 points, shooting 12-15 from the line, and locked down Castleton’s top offensive threat, forward Cornelius Green, who fouled out with zero points.
Jensen's head coach was happy to have Jensen back.
“On offense, he is a tough matchup because of his mid range game and his ability to drive to the basket,” Brown said.
In the game’s final three minutes Castleton could only muster two free throws, allowing Middlebury to pull away with the 90-80 victory.
Kizel had a typical game, scoring 19. Jack Roberts ‘14 tossed away an astonishing nine shots to go with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Despite the team’s losses in Maryland, there is optimism amongst the team and coaching staff.
“For a lot of guys on this year’s team,” Jensen said, “not only were out two weekend tournament games their first big games, but it was also the first time they saw significant minutes. Obviously I wanted to win the Invitational, but I was happy with how some of our younger players stepped up against good competition.”
The Panthers will be 5-2 when they travel to Skidmore on Saturday, Dec. 7 for their final game of 2013.
(11/20/13 6:44pm)
The Middlebury men’s basketball team opened the season with a perfect weekend to win the Rotary Tip-Off Tournament hosted by Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa. on Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16. On Friday, the Panthers won their season-opener by defeating the 21st-ranked Alvernia Crusaders 81-71. Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch secured the victory for Middlebury in the championship over Baruch on Saturday. On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the Panthers stayed undefeated by blowing out Green Mountain State College 94-53 in Middlebury’s home opener.
Friday represented the coming-out party for sophomore forward Matt Daley ’16. After struggling through a personally disappointing season last year, Daley got his first career start and made head coach Jeff Brown look like a genius. Against a vertically challenged Alvernia squad, the 6’ 8” forward dropped a game-high 24 points and tacked on 11 boards, an assist and a block in just 25 minutes.
“After last season, I was definitely disappointed in my playing time,” Daley admitted. “But the team was so successful that it was hard to argue [with my role]. So it felt really good to get into the starting lineup and contribute to a win right away.”
Starting opposite Daley, 6’ 8” center Jack Roberts ’14 recorded a double-double of his own, scoring 10 points on five of eight shooting, while pulling down 13 boards and tallying three rejections.
The only Panther to play more minutes than Daley was captain and D3Hoops.com Preseason All-American Joey Kizel ’14. Though struggling from the field (4-14 shooting), Kizel managed 14 points, including a perfect 4-4 from the free throw stripe and 2-6 from deep, while also leading the team in assists (five) and steals (three).
Furthermore, Los Angeles native Hunter Merryman ’15 picked up where he left off last year, when he shot 43 percent from beyond the arc off the bench. On Friday, Merryman played 25 minutes in relief and netted two of four three-point attempts.
The championship was played on Saturday between Middlebury and Baruch. The Panthers led by just three with under 30 seconds remaining, but near-perfect free throw shooting late from the Panthers resulted in a 96-89 victory.
Like Daley on Friday, Dylan Sinnickson ’15 showcased his improved game after missing all of last season due to injury. The ultra-athletic wingman scored 22 off the bench on 8-14 shooting and 4-5 from beyond the arc while leading the squad with eight rebounds. Baruch failed to anticipate that Sinnickson could knock down jumpers at such a proficient clip.
“It feels great to be back in game situations filled with competition and adrenaline,” Sinnickson said. “My skills have definitely improved since the last time I was on the court my freshman year, but it definitely took time to rebuild myself after the injury.”
Kizel returned to form against Baruch, finishing with 24 points on 13-17 shooting from the line and tacking on nine assists and seven boards.
Head coach Jeff Brown hopes to allow Kizel to work off the ball more in the future, but for now realizes that the senior must take control of an otherwise inexperienced backcourt.
“Our backcourt is shaping up well,” Brown said. “Joey is an elite player and we do hope to allow him to play off the ball some [in the future].”
Merryman stepped into the starting lineup for the championship game and provided 34 efficient minutes, racking up 15 points on 6-11 shooting, including a pair of threes on four attempts
Daley was again effective, despite limited playing time due to foul trouble. In just 20 minutes, the forward scored 11 points on four of five shooting, including 3-4 from the line, and grabbed seven rebounds.
Vermont-native and two-time Vermont Gatorade Player of the Year Matt St. Amour ’17 — he of 2,064 career points for Missisquoi Valley Union, third in Vermont state history — started both games on the weekend, averaging 25 minutes.
“This weekend was a great learning experience for me,” St. Amour said. “It was great to start my career with two wins. Starting was a great honor and I tried to focus on the things that the coaching staff wanted to see, like playing defense, communicating and making the smart offensive plays.”
Though failing to find much consistency, shooting 5-17 on the weekend, St. Amour did net 3-8 shots from long range, and Coach Brown expects good things to come.
“I expect him to become more comfortable in our system with more time on the floor,” Brown said.
His teammates, too, have been impressed by St. Amour’s play early on.
“He is a shooter,” Daley said. “He has a bright future and he will hit clutch shots for us.”
The story of Tuesday’s game against Green Mountain College was the impressive debut of Jake Brown ’16. In 12 minutes off the bench, Brown scored four points and tallied four assists, but most importantly played tenacious defense and showed off his ball-handling ability and poise beyond his years.
Meanwhile, Daley was the game’s high scorer with 14 points on 6-8 shooting and 2-2 from the line. Additionally, Luis Alvarez ’14 recorded nine minutes in his first game since last December due to injuries.
After only three games, it is obvious that the Panthers’ depth will be a huge asset this year.
“We have a very balanced team and I expect to use some different lineups throughout the season,” Brown said. “We are looking at several options and combinations. We can have different looks as a team. We are looking to capitalize on our depth.”
The Panthers return to action this weekend in Owings Mill, Md. at Stevenson University for the Hoopsville National Invitational Classic. The Hoopsville Classic will feature two other 2013 Elite Eight teams, Cabrini and St. Mary’s (Md.). Three teams in this year’s field were ranked in the D3Hoops.com preseason top 25, including number 10 St. Mary’s, number 18 Middlebury and number 19 Cabrini. Middlebury’s first game will come on Friday, Nov. 22 against the host Mustangs, and the Panthers will play again on Sunday, Nov. 24 against St. Mary’s, their first of three scheduled meetings against top 10 teams in the country.
(11/06/13 10:25pm)
The mark of a powerful moment is how it affects us when we reflect upon it. Sometimes we cannot predict the effect something will have down the road. Other times we know immediately that we have witnessed something great.
The night of Wednesday, Oct. 30 was one of the latter. Standing on my charming tiny wooden seat with the obstructed view, I held my breath as Red Sox’ closer Koji Uehara fanned the NL regular season leader in hits, Matt Carpenter, on a low and away split-fingered fastball. By all other accounts, the eruption of noise was deafening as Boston celebrated the end of the most up-and-down three-year cycle that any sports franchise has ever known. However, for me, the park was silent. I threw my hands in the air and tilted my head back and shouted like every other jubilant die-hard, but I heard nothing and felt nothing as I fell into a numb state of disbelief that lasted for a few moments.
That victory meant a great deal to New England, the city of Boston, Red Sox fans and me. The championship is Boston’s eighth in the past 11 years among the four major sports, beginning with the Patriots in 2002, and including the first title in 22 years for the Celtics, 39 years for the Bruins and a staggering 86 for the Sox, indisputably giving Boston claim to the moniker Titletown. Yet this one was different for Boston and for me.
Firstly, look at this team. How different from the preseason favorites to win it all that took the field in 2011, that led the division into September and then burst into flames under the chicken and beer scandal and turned away many fans with their careless and pompous attitudes.
The following calendar year was a comedy of errors. Terry Francona was jettisoned for lame duck Bobby Valentine, who let his overpaid crew of whiners flail their way to a 69-93 finish. Before the season was over, formerly critical superstars were shipped off, and the players completely alienated themselves from the fans.
By spring training of 2013, most fans had given up hope. The team on the field looked like a ragged bunch of outcasts, but from inside Ft. Myers the mood was different.
On March 27, days before the season opener, captain Dustin Pedroia tweeted, “Only thing I ask is u believe now! Don’t jump on later. It’s going to be special.”
Pedey was right. We fell in love with this squad of bearded miscreants that had the same balls-to-the-wall passion for the game that the ’04 Idiots showed en route to a championship.
Then, on April 15, the season took on monumental significance. The boming at the Boston Marathon killed three innocent people: Krystle Campbell, 29; Lu Lingzi, 23; and Martin Richard, eight. Days later the bombers attacked and shot dead a fourth victim, MIT police officer Sean Collier, 27.
Initially, I failed to grasp the magnitude of the explosion. Then I began to realize all of the people I knew who were in the city and at the marathon. A friend’s mom who had left the site of the bombing 20 minutes before. A high school friend who attends Northeastern. Another that was running in the race.
Perhaps it was not fair to project our fear and uncertainty onto the boys of summer. But nevertheless we did. And when Big Papi declared that “This is our f****** city,” every New Englander and Sox fan knew that to be true. We looked to a group of ballplayers to become heroes, not to forget the victims or the heroes of the Boston police force or men like Carlos Arredondo, the man in the cowboy hat who saved lives by quickly jumping to the aid of the wounded, but rather so that every day we could watch this team and collectively put away that tragedy for a few hours.
This is what makes sports great. The displays of athletic achievement are mind-blowing, but it is how the games and the players affect our personal lives that make it something more.
Upon coming out of my state of paralysis I sent my dad a text message with a picture of the celebration and a caption that read, “I love you.” We have had our problems recently but I knew he was watching at that moment and wishing I had been with him. That night reminded me why I love and need my father.
For that I will always be thankful to the beards. I will always love the Red Sox. I will always love that dirty water.
Boston, you’re my home.
(11/06/13 10:14pm)
Middlebury saw its season end in a frenetic final few minutes at Cole Field at Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinal, as the third-seeded Ephs bested the sixth-seeded Panthers 3-2 on Saturday, Nov. 2.
After Harper Williams ’15 blasted a penalty into the lower left-hand corner of the net in the 84th minute to bring Middlebury within one goal, both teams scrambled to gain possession with Middlebury ultimately failing to equalize.
The match pitted two veteran head coaches against one another. Middlebury’s David Saward, in his 29th year at the helm, appears a novice when compared to William’s head coach Mike Russo, who led the Ephs’ to their 31st consecutive winning season this year in his 35th year as head coach. Combined the two men have secured over 700 victories.
Saward said he admires Russo’s track record.
“There are very few coaches who compare to Mike Russo,” he said. “His consistent production of first class teams is second to none.”
No one told the Panthers that they were supposed to lie down for Russo and his higher-seeded squad, as just over two minutes into the contest Greg Conrad ’17 gave Middlebury the lead. Adam Glaser ’17 started the attack, finding Sam Peisch ’13.5 on the right side who beautifully crossed the ball to Conrad’s left boot for his fifth goal of the season.
Middlebury outplayed the Ephs for the first quarter of the game, who seemed to be disorganized early. Captain Dan Lima was playing out of position on Saturday, which may have caused some initial confusion, but would soon pay off for Williams.
Middlebury kept the pressure on and played strong defense early, forcing Williams to try some long passes and take ambitious shots. Peisch continued to wreak havoc on the offensive side of the ball, and the defense locked down on the Ephs forwards, particularly 2012 NESCAC Rookie of the Year Mohammed Rashid. Despite Rashid’s brilliant footwork and impressive speed, the defense refused to let him take over early. Tyler Smith ’14 and Deklan Robinson ’16 both used their physicality to frustrate Rashid, sending him to the turf more than once on loose balls and headers.
In the 29th minute it appeared that Middlebury might extend the lead. Glaser, Middlebury’s top scorer, did as he has done all year and created a scoring opportunity with his speed, sending a cross into the box that was deflected right of the net. As Peisch chased down the loose ball, Williams keeper Peter Morrell ambitiously pursued the Middlebury forward. Morrell’s dive prevented Peisch from getting to the ball and sent him flying to the ground, but no call was made, to Peisch’s dismay.
“I was definitely taken down in the box,” Peisch said. “The referee unfortunately didn’t make the call, but at the end of the day teams win games, not referees.”
Saward’s take was slightly more diplomatic.
“The decision did not surprise me,” Saward said. “What I thought the referee might have called is a foul just outside the penalty area, however, in his eyes I suspect he felt that Peisch went down too easily.”
Minutes later Williams nearly earned their own penalty kick as Rashid finally showed off the jets and caused problems for the Panthers. Off of a long outlet pass from Morrell along the left side, Rashid took the ball from the midfield all the way into the box where he was muscled to the ground on a clean but physical tackle that rightly was not whistled.
After Rashid’s attack, momentum seemed to swing to the Williams side. In the 26th minute Malcolm Moutenot found Rashid on a two on one off of a change of possession and Rashid easily buried the equalizer past a diving Ethan Collins ’14.
“Quality players like [Rashid] only need a half yard and they make you pay,” Saward said. “That is exactly what happened on the first goal, he got a yard start and was able to finish off a quick counter.”
The Panthers had a few chances to pull ahead again before halftime, but a long shot from Andres Rodlauer ’16 was tipped just high and a cross from Glaser who was behind the Williams back line failed to find a friendly boot.
The second half began at a frenzied pace, which favored the Ephs. In the 50th minute, Lima, usually at the back for the Ephs, curved a ball into the left side of the net well out of the reach of Collins for his first point of the season.
Less than a minute after the goal, Glaser found Peisch in the middle of the box on a low cross that Peisch sent just high of the net. Moments later Peisch redeemed himself by earning a free kick from just outside the box. The kick was knocked out of bounds for a Middlebury corner, but the effort was gobbled up by the keeper.
The Panthers’ outlook would only get bleaker in the 57th minute when Rashid again got the better of the Panthers’ usually unbreakable back line. Using his speed, Rashid surpassed the Middlebury defenders and beat Collins in the left side of the net, giving the Ephs a 3-1 lead.
The Ephs looked for the dagger as the Panthers were beaten and bruised. Conrad suffered a lower body injury and was forced to leave the game, and Graham Knisley ’14 appeared to be suffering from leg cramps. But the Panthers gamely pushed on, playing a freelance game and moving the ball upfield as quickly as possible.
As the final 15 minutes ticked on, Williams milked the clock with every possession and packed the box with defenders. Unfortunately for the Ephs, one such defender got a hand in the way of a shot from Noah Goss-Wolliner ’15 in the 84th minute. Morrell guessed correctly, diving to the right in an attempt to stop Williams’ penalty blast, but the ball found the net and reduced the deficit to one.
The last few minutes were predictably chaotic, as Williams sent long ball after long ball into Middlebury territory and the Panthers tried to put shots on net. However, Middlebury was unable to create any clear scoring opportunities, and the buzzer sounded, sending the Ephs into the semifinals to be played on Saturday, Nov. 9.
This game was the last for seven Panther seniors, who should be credited with vastly improving upon last year’s sub-.500 record, and finishing the 2013 season at 9-5-1, and whom Saward lauded for their efforts.
“This senior class has done a remarkable job,” he said. “They have left a legacy of hard work and dedication that I think will be continued by the underclassmen.”
Peisch reflected favorably on this season.
“This group is a truly a special one,” Peisch said. “I believe I speak for all the seniors in saying it has been an honor and a privilege to be a member of this team.”
(10/30/13 5:21pm)
Hannah Deoul ’14 and Chrissy Ritter ’16 invigorated a second half masterpiece against Wesleyan on Saturday Oct. 26 to win the game by a final score of 3-1 and clinch the fourth seed in the NESCAC tournament with a 12-2 record. Catherine Fowler ’15 knocked in her 17th goal of the year and supreme passer Alyssa DiMaio ’15 factored into two of the scoring plays. The team rides a five-game win streak into the NESCAC playoffs, which begin for Middlebury at home on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Wesleyan took the lead 22 minutes into the game on a fluky bouncing goal that nonetheless heated the stove top coils underneath the visiting Middlebury team. Five seconds before halftime, when it looked like the Panthers would sulk into halftime to receive another rousing speech, the ball struck a Wesleyan foot and gave Middlebury a last-second penalty corner opportunity. Bridget Instrum ’16 took a strong hit from up top that squirted away from the goalie and right to Fowler for a buzzer-beating goal. The crucial score changed the tune of the game.
“Everyone was so excited running out that it felt like we won the game,” laughed the goal-scorer, Fowler.
The Panthers have struggled to gain leads in the first thirty-five minutes of games all season, scoring only 22 first-half goals of their total 53. Captain Ellie O’Brien ’14 emphasized starting strong as a focal point moving into the elimination games.
“We have been a second half team for most of the year, but we need to change that,” she said.
When play resumed, the speed of substitutes Ritter and Deoul scorched the Wesleyan defense for two important goals, while the defense kept goalie Emily Knapp ’15 comfortably out of work. On the first strike, DiMaio unlocked the Wesleyan defense with a long cross-field pass to a streaking Ritter, who connected with Deoul on the back post for the score, executing head coach Katharine DeLorenzo’s halftime coaching adjustment.
“It was great because coach DeLorenzo told us at halftime that the lane was open if we could move the ball quickly enough, then Alyssa just did it perfectly,” said proud teammate Anna Kenyon ’16.
O’Brien also praised Coach DeLorenzo for adjusting the defensive responsibilities of the forward players to generate a more composed attack.
“Last week in practice Coach realized that the forwards were running back too much on defense, and it was affecting our offensive touches,” she said.
By remaining farther up field against Wesleyan, the forwards opened more space for quick transition passes.
Minutes later, DiMaio found Ritter again with a slick backhand pass, and this time Ritter rocked it from the offensive arc into the back of the cage for her first goal of the season.
“We have such a deep bench, it’s great to be able to play our same game no matter who’s in,” Fowler said. “Anyone can do anything, really.”
In addition to having highly capable players, the Middlebury sideline also composes the leagues highest-decibel cheering section whose well of positivity can be partially credited for all of the clutch goals and come from behind wins on the year.
“We talk about the phrase ‘reflective glory,’” said captain Deidre Miller ’15, “when someone makes a phenomenal play, everyone on the sideline gets fired up—and the players get more energy from that fire too. It’s definitely a two-way relationship.”
The team looks ahead to the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC playoffs on Saturday Nov. 2 just like any other game.
When asked to reflect on the completed season, Lauren Berestecky ’17 responded, “It doesn’t feel like the season is over at all,” then added with a comedic seriousness, “It’s only just beginning.”
(10/30/13 5:18pm)
The Middlebury men’s soccer team had their five-game winning streak snapped in their conference regular season finale with a 1-0 loss at Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 26. The streak began with a doubleheader two weeks ago at home against Trinity and Hamilton, continued with a conference win on the road at Bates 2-1 on Saturday, Oct. 19, and finished with two dismantlings of in-state opponents, Castleton State And Southern Vermont, by a total score of 14-1.
The Cardinals (7-5-1 overall, 6-3 in the NESCAC) bested the Panthers (8-4-1, 5-4-1) by a slim margin on a heart-breaking goal. As usual, the Panthers outshot their opponent (9-8), but Wesleyan took the only shot that found the twine. A direct kick from Wesleyan’s Omar Bravo slipped through the hands of Panther keeper Ethan Collins ’14 and found the foot of Ben Bratt who finished effectively to give the Cardinals the lead with just 14:33 left in the game.
Captain Graham Knisley ’14 still has a sour taste in his mouth from Saturday’s loss.
“We deserved a tie; everyone knows Wesleyan got off easy with their goal,” he said. “We couldn’t quite sync up in our offensive third like we have been the last few weeks. Our passing was a little off, and we weren’t as creative as we should have been.”
Early in the second half both teams failed to convert on good opportunities. Seven minutes in, Tyler Smith ’14 headed the ball in front of the net, but Cardinal keeper Emmett McConnell made a daring save. Shortly thereafter Bravo almost finished with a blast from inside ten yards that Collins rejected.
The game had significant repercussions on the Panthers’ playoff position.
“Losing to Wesleyan was obviously frustrating because after winning five in a row we put ourselves in a great position to secure a top four finish in the league and didn’t get the job done,” captain Sam Peisch ’14 said.
In the midst of their winning streak, Middlebury topped Bates (4-7-2, 0-7-2) 2-1 on the road on Saturday, Oct. 19 to win the Hedley Reynolds Cup, in what head coach David Saward called a “well-balanced and very competitive soccer match.”
The Panthers made a lot of noise around halftime. In the 44th minute Harper Williams ’14 hit an “absolute beauty,” according to Knisley, from just outside the 18-yard box to give Middlebury the lead.
The Panthers added to their cushion with another Adam Glaser ’17 goal in the 53rd minute with an assist from Noah Goss-Woliner ’15.
Knisley had nothing but praise for the play of his teammates, Williams, Goss-Woliner and Glaser.
“Both [Williams] and [Goss-Woliner] have been playing their best soccer since they put on the Middlebury uniform two years ago,” Knisley said. “It’s been fun to see their progress. They’ve been dominating the midfield virtually every game, and as a defender for Middlebury, I’ve never felt more confident in the guys playing directly in front of me.”
“The first-year has proven himself to be one of the most dangerous strikers in the league,” Knisley said of Glaser. “He undoubtedly has many more goals ahead of him in his career. His desire makes him a game-changer.”
Tyler Grees brought the Bobcats within one with a goal in the 64th minute, but Middlebury dominated the majority of the game.
“Other than the one opportunity we gave them to score, which they unfortunately capitalized on, we outplayed them and controlled the entire game,” Knisely said.
Peisch, too, was impressed with the team’s effort against Bates.
“Bates was a complete team victory, top to bottom,” he said.
The results of the season’s final NESCAC games on Wednesday, Oct. 30 will determine Middlebury’s playoff standing, but the Panthers know they are going to the playoffs. Despite coming off a tough loss, the Panthers are confident.
“There isn’t a single guy on our team who doesn’t believe we can win it all,” Peisch said. “That has been the attitude all of us have worked hard since the end of last season to create and it remains as strong as ever.”
There is an incredible amount of desire among this squad to make a run at the NESCAC championship. After a slow start that saw the Panthers sitting at 2-2-1 in the NESCAC a week into October, the declaration from Andres Rodlauer ’16 that Middlebury had best team in the NESCAC and was poised to make a run for a title seemed far-fetched. But, as the playoffs approach, the team remains confident and the men’s intense belief in their own abilities creates a feeling of destiny around this squad.
“I have never been more proud to be a part of a team as I am right now with this one,” Knisley said. “This is a special group.”
“We are good enough to make a big run in the NESCACs,” he continued, “We believe we can do it. Quite frankly, no one has more talent than we do.”
(10/16/13 6:07pm)
The Middlebury men’s team stopped a two game slide this weekend with convincing victories over Trinity on Saturday, Oct. 12 and Hamilton on Sunday, Oct. 13 at home during Fall Family Weekend. The crowd full of friends and family witnessed what could be a turning point in the Panthers season.
On Saturday, the Panthers (5-3-1, 4-3-1) outmuscled the Trinity Bantams (7-2-2, 3-2-2) in a 3-1 victory. Coach Dave Saward credited the Panthers’ physicality for the victory.
“Our physical presence was a challenge for Trinity,” Saward said. “The strength of the Trinity team is that they have a very dynamic front six that attack from all angles, thus it was important that we worked hard to deny service from their mid-field up to their strikers.”
The Panthers’ back line played well despite some nagging injuries to Deklan Robinson ’16 and Graham Knisley ’14 in the center. The Bantams only mustered five shots all game, and just three on net. Including Sunday’s game, the Panthers have been outshot only once this season, in the season opening overtime defeat at Amherst.
Middlebury’s first goal started at the back when Robinson fed the ball down the right side to Tom Bean ’17 who quickly led a streaking Adam Glaser ’17 with a nice pass.
“Glaser had a step on the Trinity defender and from such an advantage he rarely relinquishes the lead,” Saward said. “This proved to be the case as he rushed clear of the Bantam back line and calmly chipped the ball over the desperate dive of the goalkeeper.”
Only six minutes later, Robinson claimed some glory of his own. After Trinity failed to clear a corner kick effectively, Harper Williams ’15 played the ball toward the back post where Robinson finished with an emphatic header.
Trinity then got one back at the 38:34 mark, when a long clearance found a sprinting Trinity winger behind the Middlebury back line. Trinity player Fernando Torello slid the ball past keeper Ethan Collins ’14 to equalize within one at halftime.
Not to be outdone, Glaser’s hard work earned him a second goal on the day. Glaser chased down the Trinity defender and caused some confusion between him and the Bantam keeper. Glaser stole the ball, turned and shot in one motion for the goal.
Glaser now leads the team with five goals on the season and 11 points.
“Even though Glaser is a freshman, he is a mature and skilled player on the ball who always seems to be in the right place and can create space between defenders to quickly shoot the ball,” teammate Tyler Bonini ’16 said.
On Sunday, the Panthers looked to sweep the weekend against the visiting Hamilton Continentals (2-5-3, 1-3-3). Middlebury took an early lead in the 12th minute when Sam Peisch ’14.5 cleaned up a rebound off of Noah Goss-Wolliner’s ’15 blocked shot for his first goal of the season.
For the remainder of the first half the Panthers controlled possession, but it did not come easily. Around 15 minutes in, Knisley hit the turf twice while defending Hamilton’s attacks. Moments later, Philip Skayne ’17 leapt for a header and went end over end when a Hamilton player took out his legs. With three minutes remaining in the half, Bonini played a set piece into the box that Bean was nearly able to finish but for some contact, leaving Bean with his hands in the air and staring at the official.
Middlebury had a handful of close scoring chances in the second half. In the 67th minute a long set piece resulted in the ball being redirected and glancing off the outside of the post. The Panthers produced a flurry of attacks in the final 15 minutes of the half. In the 79th minute Williams’ corner was snagged by the leaping Hamilton keeper. Middlebury recovered the ball quickly and mounted a counter attack led by Bonini. Streaking down the right side, Bonini cut back nicely and tried to finish with the left foot but was denied by a diving save.
The Panthers were still not done. Off of a long throw Bean had a decent look at the net, but was unable to get a shot off and the ball was cleared from danger.
Hamilton continued to throw its weight around in the second half, but to no avail. In the 61st minute Collins made an easy catch off of a free kick and took what was clearly a deliberate shoulder from Hamilton’s Buck Reynolds.
Hamilton’s best scoring chance came with 22 minutes remaining in the game. John McGuinnis crossed a beautiful ball Daniel Kraynak, who desperately laid out for the ball. Kraynak beat Collins but went wide of the net.
Middlebury tried to put the game away in the 78th minute. A Hamilton defender took down Robinson outside the 18 resulting in a free kick. Off the set piece, Williams found the back of the net with a header, but was called for a foul, negating the goal.
With just two minutes remaining a shoving match halted play when Hamilton’s keeper slid to take out Glaser as his shot went high over the net. Some Hamilton defenders took offense to Glaser’s aggressive run, enough so that one shoved Glaser to the ground as he tried to get up. Officials put a stop to the confusion, and Middlebury iced the game less than a minute later when Glaser crossed it low to Skayne for the goal.
Saward took some positives from last week’s loss at Tufts and believed that if the team brought the same level of commitment to the weekend they would have success.
“From my perspective, the team did all of that and more,” Saward said. “They were rewarded for their hard work and positive attitude with two very good wins and 6 points. Now we need to sustain our effort for every minute of every game left and we shall see where that takes us. Nothing is guaranteed.”
Middlebury rose to second in the NESCAC over the weekend, though still a distant second to table-setting Amherst. They will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Bates.
(10/09/13 10:53pm)
The Panthers lost by a single goal for the third time this season on Saturday, Oct. 5, at Tufts. The Jumbos scored just before halftime and recorded a shutout for the seventh time this season and the 1-0 victory.
Both coaches and players felt that the team played exceptionally well, especially in the back, and were disappointed with the result. The stats support the Panthers’ sentiment.
“This was our best performance of the year, with the one exception of finding a way to score,” head coach Dave Saward said.
Middlebury (3-3-1, 2-3-1) outshot the Jumbos (6-2-1, 4-2) by a wide margin of 19-6, putting six on net compared to just two for Tufts. Additionally, the Panthers had more corners (five) than Tufts (two).
Tufts’ Rul Pinheiro netted the game’s only goal in the 40th minute.
“We turned the ball over on the halfway line and Tufts effectively counter-attacked and scored a good goal with a strike from the top of the box,” Saward said.
Aside from this mishap, the defense kept the Panthers in the game, as they have done for the majority of the season.
“The back four were excellent, particularly [Graham] Knisley ’14 and Deklan Robinson ’16,” Saward said. “If we are going to put a run together the back four have to provide us with stable and consistent performances. They have become better and better.”
Adam Glaser ’17 put two shots on goal, and felt optimistic that the ball will start finding the back of the net soon.
“[W]e were just unlucky not to put one in,” Glaser said. “To their credit, the goalie played very well. The fact that we’re creating good opportunities is most important and eventually the ball will roll our way.”
Saward echoed the sentiment of his forward.
“[W]e had our fair share of opportunities,” Saward said. “We need a little bit more luck in front of goal.”
Now halfway through their season, the Panthers are at a critical juncture, currently sitting sixth in the league table. The top eight teams will make the NESCAC playoffs. Despite some tough losses, there is optimism that the team can hold onto its playoff spot.
“Our level of play in our last three games has been superb,” Glaser said. “If we can keep that level up, the results will come. All we need is to peak at the right time and everything will fall into place.”
The Panthers will know a lot about their postseason prospects after this weekend’s doubleheader, the team’s only two-game weekend of the year. Middlebury will play Trinity, who currently sits fourth in the NESCAC, on Saturday, Oct. 12, and Hamilton, who rests in seventh, on Sunday, Oct. 13.
(10/02/13 5:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>I am a die-hard Boston sports fan. For example, in 2003, at only 10 years old, I fell asleep in the 7th inning of Game 7 of the ALCS. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. and turned on my TV to see continuous replays of Wakefield’s floating meatball sputtering toward Aaron Boone’s bat and subsequently rocketing into the atmosphere, at which point my howls of misery awoke my parents in the room next door.
This past Saturday, I found myself suddenly devoted to another team, another fan base, another history. Even I, so seasoned in the art of sports viewing, could not comprehend the scene that I witnessed – that I was a part of – in Athens, Ga. this weekend.
Two weeks ago a friend from Bowdoin called me with the idea to visit a high school buddy in Georgia for a match up of top ten teams, LSU and UGA. At first, I had to tell him that my summer job of painting houses for a month did not supply me with the adequate funds necessary to undertake this voyage. But the idea stewed in my mind, and I could not quell my enthusiasm any longer. With a loan from the First Bank of Dad, the trip became a reality. On Friday, four of my best high school friends and I descended on Athens where our gracious host introduced us to life in a major college football town.
We arrived in Athens around 11 p.m on Friday. On both sides of the street intoxicated minors clad in red and black streamed out of frat houses. Outside our friend Bradley’s house, a sloppy pledge laid down some freestyle beats on stage in the parking lot in front of 100 or so people. Later, our contingent joined the revelry downtown where it seemed that the doormen at every bar had very poor eyes.
I saw guys with Ralph Lauren polos and boaters and girls in short sun dresses and cowboy boots. Every bar played the same songs but got the same excited reaction every time. Apparently, a lot of college students have the same ‘f****** problem’.
When Saturday morning began, around 8:30 a.m., the party began with it. Right outside our door a band played live in front of a few hundred rowdy Dawgs fans. Dozens of tents shaded tailgaters playing corn hole. A giant smoker produced delicious brisket that had begun cooking the day before.
Around 11:30 a.m. we crossed the road to enter the main quad where the College GameDay crew had set up shop. Swarms of fans from LSU and UGA held signs and hollered their approval or displeasure with every opinion offered by the show’s hosts. Three hours of tailgating later, the game began.
Running solely on adrenaline, I cheered and lamented with every ebb and flow of the roller coaster contest along with 85,000 other Dawgs fans. When LSU countered a Dawgs score with one of their own, the few sections of purple and yellow outdid the vast majority with their chants of “Geaux Tigers!” The red and black responded with “Glory, glory, glory Georgia, and to Hell with LSU!”
The game went back and forth seemingly every drive, and with only a few minutes left the ball was in the hands of UGA quarterback Aaron Murray, who then conducted a near-perfect drive to give the Dawgs a three-point lead. On the ensuing drive the crowd roared as it tried to affect the LSU offense. With each incompletion, the crowd’s fervor, and my own, increased. When the ball hit the ground on 4th down and Georgia sealed its victory, the stadium exploded.
On my drive back to the College on Sunday afternoon, I thought about how connected I felt to those people in the last moments of that game. I still felt the intensity in that stadium of 92,000 and the joy of the Mardi Gras-like crowd roaming the streets of downtown later that night. I had gone on the vacation of a lifetime, sandwiched between class on Friday and Monday morning. I lived in a different world for a day, and what a day it was.
Dawgs on top.
(09/25/13 7:48pm)
The Middlebury men’s soccer team failed to earn three points in its second overtime tilt of the season on Saturday, Sept. 21 at Bowdoin, instead drawing 1-1 with the Polar Bears. Middlebury now sits at 1-1-1 in conference, six points behind Amherst for the top spot.
Saturday represented a chance for the Panthers to close the gap between themselves and the top of the pack in the NESCAC as they traveled to Brunswick to play the previously 0-2 Polar Bears. Middlebury was able to put 10 shots on net but failed to truly challenge the keeper from Bowdoin.
“It was good to get so many shots on goal,” head coach Dave Saward said. “[It] shows the correct attacking mentality, however, we did not really force their keeper into a difficult save.”
Twenty-four minutes in, Bowdoin suffered an own goal that was forced by pressure from first-year midfielder Greg Conrad ’17. Middlebury played a ball over the back line that Conrad pursued with earnest. Bowdoin keeper Will Wise moved off his line just as a Bowdoin defender attempted to head the ball backward away from Conrad, inadvertently looping the ball over Wise for an own goal.
Middlebury had another strong chance in the first half when Sam Peisch ’13.5 crossed a ball into the box that Tyler Smith ’14 sent over the crossbar from six yards out.
Bowdoin evened the score in the 58th minute with a goal from Andrew Jones. Similar to the Middlebury goal, a ball played forward from the midfield created the chance. Jones found the ball and was able to pass the it into the far post for the equalizer.
Middlebury outplayed Bowdoin in overtime, but failed to place the ball in the net.
“I felt that the first half of overtime was controlled mainly by Middlebury, with the odd break from Bowdoin, while the second overtime was even, with both teams getting a couple of good chances to win the game,” Saward said.
Co-captain Peisch also believed that the score line was an unfair reflection of the effort the Panthers put in.
“Aside from a defensive breakdown on the final play of the game, our team dominated both overtime periods, creating numerous chances inside the box that we were unlucky not to finish,” Peisch said. “Though in some ways we were unfortunate to not come out with three points, our effort and energy in overtime was something that we will look to build on this week going into our next matches.”
The team left two points on the table that will likely come back to haunt them later in the season. However, both the coaching staff and the squad remain positive that the team still resides in the NESCAC title hunt.
“Our team remains confident and united despite the tie over the weekend at Bowdoin,” Peisch said. “There is a lot of parity this year in the NESCAC and our team is only going to get better as the season progresses.”
In order to move up the league table, Middlebury will have to improve on its ability to close out games.
“Overtime games are painful to lose, so I was delighted to see the team be resilient and get a draw on the road,” Saward said. “I think it should show the team that they have the inner strength to prevail in tight games.”
Co-captain Adam Batista ’14 echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“If we put together full 90 minute efforts, one game at a time, wins will come and the rest will take care of itself,” Batista said. “We expect to be near the top of the table, and we still believe a title is within our grasp.”