Five-Goal Outburst Propels Men’s Soccer

On Saturday, Sept. 28 the Middlebury men’s soccer team celebrated its 500th win in program history in style. The Panthers roared their way to victory with a dominant 5-0 over bottom-ranked Colby.

The Panthers’ failed to match their offensive output from Saturday’s game in a 2-1 home loss against Williams on Tuesday, Oct. 1.

Middlebury wasted little time getting the scoring started. Just 12 minutes into the first half, Adam Glaser ’17 buried the ball in the bottom left corner after receiving a slick through ball from co-captain Adam Batista ’14 near the midfield line. Middlebury continued an attacking trend throughout the first half, with several similar chances created by balls up the middle.

Colby had a few chances to even the score in the first half with three corner kicks and several free kicks just outside the penalty box. However, the Panthers defense remained stalwart and took the ball outside dangerous territory each time the Mules threatened.

Middlebury senior goalie Ethan Collins ’14 is confident in the back line playing in front of him.

“The defense has being playing incredibly well,” Collins said.  “A big part of this has to do with the work ethic and drive of our defenders in the back.  They fight incredibly hard to win every tackle and 50-50 ball.  The guys in front of me have also been communicating very well which helps them shut down the opposition.”

Middlebury wasn’t satisfied scoring just one before the halftime whistle, and with 1:22 left, forward Dan Skayne ’15 put an unassisted strike behind the goalie, after beating a defender above the box.

Coming into the second half with that confidence ensured an immediate and electric continuation to Middlebury’s scoring exploits. Only five minutes into the half, Batista sent a rocket of a throw-in from deep in Colby’s territory into the penalty box. Midfielder Greg Conrad ’17 delivered a header to the feet of Glaser, who drove the ball high above the goalie’s head into the opposite top corner.

Just 12 seconds later, Glaser, still hungry for another goal, was able to beat two defenders and the goalie, putting the ball into the bottom corner of the net after yet another assist from Batista. Glaser’s three goals were the first of his young Middlebury career.

“Netting the first goals of my career was huge for me,” Glaser said. “I used to feel so anxious about getting the first one, worrying that my game wouldn’t translate to the college stage but I feel like a huge weight is now off my back.”

Despite Glaser’s hat-trick, Batista’s impressive supporting role did not go unnoticed.

“Adam has got that ability as well, he’s a very dynamic player,” head coach David Saward said. “It’s early days, but even in practice he’s just hungry to score … he’s a predator who’s going to get in and around the penalty box.”

Middlebury kept up the intensity for the remainder of the match, with the defense shutting down Colby’s attack down at every given chance, including three more corner kicks. Collins had a particularly impressive sequence, earning two of his four saves by diving from the ground for each after a Colby striker was able to get the ball at his feet twice in a row.

Before the final whistle blew, Middlebury first-year Jory Makin ’17 put one more on the board for the panthers. He cleanly and powerfully struck the ball from the top left corner of the penalty box, and sent it gliding over the goalie’s fingertips into the top right corner of the goal.

Saward believes that confidence is imperative for his team going forward into tougher competitions.

“Everyday we strive to get a little bit better,” Saward said. “You’ve got to have a little bit of swagger in order to have self-belief and to believe in the guys next to you and around you … there’s no substitute to building that confidence than winning, and winning convincingly.”

Glaser echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“We should have great momentum going into the rest of the week, and hopefully with such a great result this weekend there’ll be lots of support there,” Glaser said. “Looking forward, this team is capable of anything. The combination of talent and senior leadership will be very dangerous.”

Tuesday’s game against Williams presented an early test of Saward’s hopes for a more confident team. While the Ephs only managed three shots on net, two found the back of the goal despite the best efforts of the Panthers defense and goaltender Ethan Collins ’14.

Middlebury went down early when Williams’ junior back Andres’ Burbank-Crump scored on a low laser from 25 yards out. That score held for the majority of the game. In the 49th minute Collins made an impressive diving stop to keep the game close.

Greg Conrad ’17 made things interesting in the 85th minute when he scored his first career goal by sneaking a free kick into the top left corner of the net to knot the score at 1-1. Conrad deferred the credit to his teammate.

“[The] free kick … came because of Tom Bean’s [‘17] hard work to get in a dangerous position,” said Conrad.

Less than two minutes later Williams’ Matt Muralles responded with a goal to ruin the Middlebury comeback and give Williams a 2-1 victory.

“Ninety minutes is a long game and emotionally that can take its toll on the team after a while,” said Conrad. “We just made a few small mistakes that they just capitalized on.”

The Panthers now sit at 3-2-1 and 2-2-1 in NESCAC play, which will resume this Saturday at Tufts (5-2-1, 3-2).