notes from the desk Middlebury men's soccer - one for the record books

Author: James Kerrigan

Just before closing time at Proctor on a September evening, I sat down with men's soccer goalie Brian Bush '09 for a quick dinner before returning to the newspaper office. We did our best to get through the leftover food as we exchanged high school soccer glory stories. I thought nothing of it when he gave me the play-by-play of stopping a penalty kick during his high school state tournament.

Perhaps I should have paid closer attention, because four years later, history repeated itself, only this time on a much bigger scale.

Bush finished the season with six consecutive shutouts against the region's and then the nation's best. Twelve times during that stretch, with the season on the line, Bush stood between the pipes with just 12 yards between him and the opposing striker. In a contest usually dominated by the shooter, Bush had the upper hand, stopping eight attempts.

All the while, there was no hootin' and hollerin' - only focus and determination. He quietly made save after save, each time injecting more and more confidence into his teammates standing 55 yards away at half-field, and in the championship game against powerhouse Trinity (TX), all four seniors - with their entire careers on the line - converted their penalty shots to secure the NCAA title.

For the first time all season, the men really celebrated. Even after winning the NESCACs, and advancing in the NCAA tournament, they simply gathered together and calmly congratulated each other. Their celebrations may have been quiet, but their accomplishments did not go unnoticed.

Harrison Watkins '11 came off the bench and did quite a job filling in for the solid Colin Nangle '10, who went down in the opening minutes of the NCAA semifinal match due to an ankle injury. Stephen Hart '10, who did not start a single game all season, provided unmatched energy up front and even netted six goals during the fall. Allen Bourdon '08.5 played through the pain of several torn ligaments in his knee and helped dictate the play in the midfield. Jamie Wheeler '10 suited up when Bush went down with a shoulder injury and had two shutouts in three starts.

Above all, the Panthers won with leadership. The five seniors - co-captains Andrew Germansky and Alex Elias, along with Brandon Jackson, Casey Ftorek and Dave LaRocca - took the field on Sept. 8 for the season opener with a revived outlook that quickly translated to noticeably improved on-field chemistry. The same five were on the field when the final whistle blew at the end of overtime against Trinity. For every second in between, Germansky was anchoring the back and leading the entire team.

When asked about the quality of leadership among the seniors, Bush said, "it's the best I have ever seen."

The 2007 Panther team is now the best, most successful team Middlebury soccer has ever fielded. They finished ahead of 401 other Division III teams to take the trophy back to Middlebury, and earned the right to put their arms around each other and (not so quietly) sing, "we've got one and they've got none, do dah, do dah."

James Kerrigan is a Sports editor from Etna, N.H.