Men's Soccer on Four-Game Tear

Author: Josh Axelrod

It has been a busy and successful two weeks for the Middlebury men's soccer team. Since falling to Williams on Oct. 12, the Panthers have gone 3-0-1 by defeating Norwich, Bates, St. Micheal's and tying Tufts. Middlebury now sits in a tie for third place, and is vying for home-field advantage in the New England Small Colleges Athletic Conference (NESCAC) playoffs that start this Sunday.
On Oct. 16, the Panthers took to the field against Norwich in what proved to be a showcase of Middlebury's blossoming prowess. Scoring started early on with a goal from Conor Shapiro '03. Middlebury kept up the pace, adding another goal from Kellan Florio '05 with 10 minutes left in the first half. Up 2-0 at half time, Middlebury didn't let any slack into its play and was able to easily add two more goals from Kyle Dezotell '03 in the second half.
Middlebury's 4-0 trouncing of Norwich marked a special day in Middlebury men's soccer history for senior forward Dezotell. With eight goals tallied so far this season, he surpassed Tor Hultgren for the record of all time leader in points with 80. He now needs only one goal to tie as Middlebury's all- time goal scorer with 32. When asked about his astonishing Middlebury career, Dezotell remained modest and replied, "It is an honor. Middlebury has a great soccer tradition, and a great soccer history, but right now I'm just letting the season happen. When it's over, I'll be able to look back on it and appreciate what I was able to achieve with the help of my great team."
Coming off of their resounding victory over Norwich, the Panthers faced NESCAC foe Bates on Oct. 19. In the pounding cold rain, Middlebury dominated the field, opening the scoring up with 12 minutes to play in the first half on yet another goal from Florio. One minute later, the energized Panthers struck again on a beautiful header goal from the unstoppable Florio. Coming out of the half time break, it took the Panthers only 10 more minutes to add a third goal to their tally with a goal from Shapiro.
Play evened out over the remainder of the game, Middlebury looking lazy at times as it toyed with Bates and their 3-0 lead. With 19 minutes to play in the game, a rocket of a shot from Bates silenced the exuberant crowd. Bates was back in the game. Just 10 minutes later, a slippery ball and sloppy defense allowed for another Bates goal, and a one-goal game. Needless to say, Middlebury tightened its grip. The final minutes of the game resulted in several close calls for Dezotell, but the Panthers were unable to add to what should have been a more resounding win.
This past Thursday, while most of the campus was on Fall Break, the Panthers took to the pitch for a friendly contest against St. Michael's. Momentum was hard to find, and motivation for a winwas lacking, but the Panthers were still up to the challenge. With an early goal from Dezotell, Middlebury's defense was able to hold strong for the remainder of the game, not letting St. Michael's have any chances on goal.
With three wins in a row, Middlebury faced Tufts last Friday in its second-to-last NESCAC game before playoffs. The Panthers started slowly and couldn't find the momentum necessary to generate any effective offense.
Tufts used with four forwards a formation the Panther's defense had a hard time dealing with throughout the first half.
The half time break didn't prove to work in Middlebury's favor either, as Tufts finally found a hole in the defense and scored with 22 minutes to play on a beautiful volley from six yards out.
Tufts' goal proved to be exactly what the Panthers needed to get their game in gear. Freshly awakened from the lurking smell of defeat, Middelbury turned on the offensive heat and tied the game with less than two minutes to play on a goal from Captain Todd Malony '03. In the two overtimes that followed, Jason Griffiths '04 scored, but the linesman called back the goal on what has proven to be yet another in a long list of bad reffing judgements.
Middlebury will take the field one last time in regular season play this Saturday when they travel to New London, Conn., to face the Connecticut College Camels.
This final game should solidify the team into third place and secure home field advantage for a first round matchup against likely competitor Tufts University in the NESCAC playoffs.