Panthers stay perfect, 5-0 Toth '07 keeps fourth clean sheet in five games

Author: Tom McCann

The Middlebury men's soccer team continues to roll along, scoring goals when it needs them and keeping the backdoor shut at the same time.

It is a formula to which every team aspires, and should Coach Saward's men maintain it, a long run into the post-season might not be unrealistic. They certainly looked every bit worthy of a post-season spot this past weekend, taking two wins from Colby-Sawyer and Wesleyan.

In the first of the two, Colby-Sawyer were never given time to settle by the Panthers, who took the initiative inside the first five minutes. Brodie MacDearmid '07 was quick to pick up the ball inside the visitors' half and ran in on goal. The junior was unchallenged as he approached goalkeeper Joe Albiston and made no mistake, lashing the ball into the back of the net.

After establishing themselves on the game so early, it was something of a surprise that it took until the hour mark for Middlebury to effectively end the contest. MacDearmid notched his second of the game when he reacted quickest to a long punt from his goalkeeper Zack Toth '07, and nodded the ball over Albiston and into the onion bag.

When Winston Rains '07 whipped in a cross for Simon Perkins '06 to net Middlebury's third goal, it added the final touch on a comprehensive victory. Toth, largely untroubled by Colby-Sawyer, made one save, keeping his third shutout in four games.

If there is one thing that goalkeepers prize above all, it's clean sheets. A goalkeeper would rather win 2-0 than 5-1, and so entering the game against Wesleyan, another shutout was high on the agenda for the Panthers. Both teams were reluctant to give an inch to the other, and so perhaps it should be no surprise that when the goal came, it had a stroke of luck attached to it.

First-year Baer Fisher, attempting to send a searching cross into the box, saw his effort sail over the goalkeeper's head, ricochet off the underside of the crossbar and carry inches over the line. It may not have been beautiful, designed or even deliberate, but it mattered not, and it proved to be the decisive moment in the game.

When the final whistle blew, the Panthers held a slender shot advantage of 13-12, putting seven on goal, to their hosts' five. Fisher's 20th minute strike meant that Middlebury extended their winning start to the season to five games, and gave Toth and his backline their fourth shutout in five games.

This is exactly the sort of form that the Panthers will need to replicate this upcoming weekend when Coach Saward's men face their sternest challenges yet. Middlebury are slated to host Colby and Bowdoin, perennial NESCAC rivals. The doubleheader will be a true test of this team's caliber as Colby snapped a five-game winning streak last year when they claimed a 2-2 draw, before Bowdoin ran out 1-0 winners the following day, handing the Panthers their first defeat of the season.

The Class of 2006 looks good at present, but a lot more will be known about this squad when this coming weekend has been weathered.