Bates Bobcats barely beat Brian Bush

Author: Jeff Patterson

The Middlebury men's soccer team had ten corner kicks. Bates had zero. Middlebury had hundreds of supporting fans on account of Homecoming Weekend. Bates had almost zero. Middlebury had already claimed three wins: in women's soccer, field hockey and football. Bates had zero. And yet, it was the Middlebury men's soccer team who scored zero goals, as they fell to Bates 1-0 on Saturday.

Similar to last year's Homecoming game, Middlebury was again on the short end of a 1-0 shutout, this time due in part to Bates' strong defense.

"Their goalkeeper [Rob Munro], I thought had a spectacular game," said Billy Brennan '07. Munro's biggest save actually came when one of his own teammates sent the ball towards the goal Bates was defending. "It was an extremely difficult play to make in that [Munro] had to completely change the direction his body was going in, at a time when he really wasn't expecting to have to make a save," Brennan said.

Munro's success aside, it was Bates midfielder Duane Pelz, who scored the game winner at 21:24 into the second half. This time Pelz, who is ranked fifth in the NESCAC in assists per game, had his eyes on the goal rather than one of his teammates. The six-foot, 210-pound Pelz one-timed a cross from five-foot-seven, 130-pound Rob Friedlander past goalkeeper Brian Bush '09. The smallest player on the team provided for the biggest, thereby providing the biggest win of the season for the Bobcats.

Bush was filling in for injured co-captain Zack Toth '07, who was on the bench with a knee injury. Bush, who began the game without having given up a goal in three previous appearances, had a scoreless first half, but he could not stop Pelz's perfectly placed shot. Despite the absence of Toth, the team was not worried.

"We had a ton of confidence in Bush and he played extremely well," said Andrew Germansky '08.

Coming into the game, Middlebury was the favorite, as a result of having recently beaten then undefeated Williams - a team that had defeated Bates to 3-0. The Panthers also decisively beat two other common opponents, Plymouth State and Tufts, teams which Bates had failed to score against. However, both Brennan and Nathaan Demers '08.5 do not believe the team overlooked this seemingly inferior opponent.

"We were concentrated on Bates," said Demers. "Williams was done and over with."

Brennan said, "We came into the game knowing that every remaining game was extremely important, due to the fact that we had already lost a few games."

What could have been a validation of the 3-2 double over-time thriller over Williams became instead a missed opportunity. It was Casey Ftorek's '08 goal that beat the Ephs on the road over Fall Break, but at home, the Panthers could not get a break.

"This week we played decently, [Bates] played well and we didn't get the breaks," said Germansky. "If we had played like we did against Williams we would have won."

With a total of ten corner kicks, Middlebury obviously had the ball down in Bates' end for a significant part of the game. "It was quite frustrating to have so many chances, and yet not convert any of them," said Brennan. "It's a weird game in that goals are at such a premium that you can have the better of the play and still come out on the wrong side of the score sheet."

Middlebury is now 8-4 on the season (4-4 in the NESCAC). The Panthers have one more NESCAC game against last place Trinity before the league tournament.

"I think that our record is not a true indicator of the depth and ability of this team," said Brennan. "We will be going on the road for our first round NESCAC game for the first time in years, but I do not question our ability to win three games in a row at tournament time."