Men’s soccer rebounds with resounding win over Tufts

Following a tough 1-0 loss at home to Bates on Oct. 23, the Middlebury men’s soccer team needed a win on the road against Williams to secure the top seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament. The Ephs entered the game as perhaps the Panthers’ strongest opponent of the season with a record of 10-1-2. Facing its rival on the road with some key injuries, the Panthers fell 3-0 to Williams, conceding one less goal in the game then they had previously let in all year.
Williams jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 13-minute mark of the first half on a goal scored by the Ephs’ Kiel Bonhomme. Williams added two more goals in the second half to seal the victory, scored in the 55th and 75th minutes. Middlebury outshot Williams 10-7, but this statistic was not enough to secure the win for the visitors.
“The simple truth on the day was that Williams was more clinical in front of goal than we were,” said Saward. “We did not defend individually or collectively as well as we have and against a very strong team, we were punished.”
“We made some personnel changes before and during the game because of injuries,” said co-captain Carson Cornbrooks ’11. “We moved new guys into different positions and had some trouble adjusting. We had just as many close chances as they did, but where they capitalized we missed. We moved the ball well, but failed to make the little plays that in the end win games.”
Having lost its last two NESCAC games in a row by a combined score of 4-0, the team ended up finishing third in the conference with an 11-3 overall record. However, the team refocused its effort heading into Sunday’s post-season contest.
“We’ve been there before and we know what it means; show up or go home,” said Cornbrooks. “We stayed positive, spent some time as a team off the pitch, and made sure everyone was on the same page. We were playing for another week of practice as a team, and that made it all the more important to everyone.”
The Panthers came out at home and buried the Jumbos early, putting up three goals by the middle of the first half. The return of Tyler Macnee ’12 proved to be a game-changer, as he scored in both the seventh and the 25th minute. Brett Brazier ’13 scored the Panthers second goal in the 16th minute. The performance on Sunday mirrored the team’s play in its 7-0 start, scoring goals early and then playing stifling defense, with Tim Cahill ’12 recording his ninth shutout on the season. Cornbrooks stressed the importance of several line-up changes that helped get the team the win.
“The Tufts game looked more like our earlier play because we moved guys back into their original positions,” said Cornbrooks. “Macnee scored two great goals, and much of our offensive outburst was due to his return to the pitch.”
Heading into this Saturday’s NESCAC semifinal match-up against Amherst, the team is hopeful that it will be the first of two games on the weekend, as the finals are set for Sunday.
“We are all very confident that we can come home Sunday with a championship,” said Cornbrooks. “We perform well under pressure against good opponents, the likes of which we will face this weekend. The team is very excited, and looking forward to a solid week of practice before the biggest weekend of our season.”
The Panthers face Amherst on Saturday, with the winner facing the victor of the Wesleyan-Bowdoin game on Sunday for the championship.