Costly penalty kicks doom soccer

Author: Drew Schlegel

After dropping two of their last three games, the men's soccer team trained hard and prepared well for the pivotal home game against Amherst on Saturday. The Panthers' hopes of maintaining a winning record in the NESCAC were slashed, however, by the Lord Jeffs in a 3-1 loss on Dragone Field.

Amherst jumped ahead early as Mike Wohl scored a low cross from Nick Lynch in the fourth minute. Then, in the 19th minute, Amherst scored again when Jake Duker finished a long throw-in from Rob Madden. Both goals were demoralizing blows for the Panthers.

As the first half wore on, the Panthers crawled back into the match with a late goal in the 33rd minute. Co-Captain David Lee '07 served a corner kick into the box as Andrew Germansky '08 fought through the scrum to get his head on the ball. Germansky muscled his way through the Amherst defense and buried the team's first goal past the Amherst goalkeeper, Mohamed Zeidan. This goal ended the half on a hopeful note and the momentum appeared to be shifting in Middlebury's favor.

Midway through the second half, after an Amherst striker broke through the midfield and got behind the Middlebury defense, Corey Moffat '09 was forced to take him down in the penalty area. The Panthers seemed to have gained control of the game after co-captain and goalkeeper Zach Toth '07 made a crucial diving save on the ensuing penalty kick in the seventy-fourth minute. This save, however, was nullified as the referees ruled that Toth left the line too early. On his second try, Amherst's Jake Duker would not be denied and converted his second goal of the match into the side netting.

With less than seven minutes to play and the Lord Jeffs up 3-1, the Panthers' chances of winning were bleak. Nevertheless, in the 77th minute, the Panthers received a penalty kick of their own. Unfortunately, Amherst's Zeidan deflected Casey Ftorek's '08 shot towards the post and ended up securing the rebound. The Panthers failed to generate any more scoring opportunites during the game's final minutes.

After the disappointing result, Ftorek knows where the team stands. "We were outworked and outplayed on our field with a great Parents' Weekend. We did not deserve to win the game," the striker said.

Giving up early goals has been a problem all season for the Panthers. "We keep putting ourselves in holes and trying to get back out," says Lee. "We almost clawed our way back into it this weekend, but that's the problem right there. It works against mediocre teams like we played in the first couple games, but against a class side like Amherst, it is impossible."

It is difficult to play from behind, especially in a league like the NESCAC where goals are not easy to manufacture. In the next couple of weeks, Williams, Bates and Trinity are on the docket. The Panthers need good showings in tough games as they approach the NESCAC tournament. As Ftorek put it, the team needs "to collectively find a way to right the ship because our season is in jeopardy.