Men's soccer loses on PK's but gets NCAA bid

Author: Andrew Schlegel

First to shoot was John Sales '07. He gave the Panthers an early 1-0 advantage, but Williams matched it. Vandy Shanholt '07 stepped up to the stripe next and striped a shot into the center of the goal, but once again Williams matched it. Winston Rains' '07 shot hit the right post, stone dead, but on the ensuing kick goalkeeper and Co-Captain Zack Toth '07 made a huge save to keep the best-of-five contest tied at two.

After 120 minutes of thrilling soccer had produced no goals, but plenty of fouls - 46 to be exact - and three rounds of penalty kicks the NESCAC Championship was going to be decided in the last two rounds.

In the fourth round, Williams' goalkeeper Jeff Castiglione anticipated the placement of Co-Captain Dave Lee's '07 kick and pushed it aside, giving the momentum back to the Ephs. Once Brett Olsen scored to put the Ephs up 3-2, Billy Brennan '07 needed to score in order to continue the session and the season, but Castiglione stopped his shot and the Ephs had won their fifth NESCAC Championship in the last six years.

Middlebury's six seniors, playing in their last NESCAC Tournament, put up a valiant effort, but in the end, it was not enough.

The Panthers played against Williams without their leading scorer, Casey Ftorek '08, who was given a red card late in the semifinal match against Amherst for getting in an argument with a referee over a non-call, after Baer Fisher '09 was tripped in the penalty box with 5:24 remaining in the game. It was Ftorek, responsible for 13 goals and eight assists this season, who scored the game-winner to beat the Ephs in double-overtime on Oct. 14, but on Sunday he stayed on the bench, unable to participate.

Middlebury's strong play was mostly a result of the defensive effort and the impressive acrobatics of goalkeeper Toth. "Our team defense was incredible this week," said Shanholt. "Zack Toth probably played two of the best games he's played since he came here. He was on top of everything." Toth made six saves and his performance earned him NESCAC Player of the Week honors.

Despite losing in penalty kicks, the Panthers fought with everything they had against a team ranked fifth in the nation in Division III soccer.

"After the final, I knew that the senior class, who had poured their hearts into the program, had left their mark on Middlebury soccer forever," said Lee. "We taught the younger guys that you can never give up, even when all the odds are stacked against you."

The NESCAC Tournament did not give the Panthers any easy matches, but it did allow them to showcase their talent and prove that they are one of the premiere teams in the conference. The 1-0 win over Amherst on Saturday was no different. After a win over Bowdoin in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament, the Panthers were confident that they could avenge the 3-1 loss suffered on Dragone Field earlier this season.

The Panthers stayed on point all game. The defense was able to shutdown the Lord Jeffs and keep the match tied at 0-0 until the eighty-first minute. Then, Ftorek settled a loose ball in the penalty box and placed it between the near post and Amherst's goalie, Jeffrey Grover.

Middlebury received an at-large bid to the NCAAs and will face St. Lawrence on Saturday at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. The last time the Panthers went to the NCAA Tournament was in 2000.