Women’s soccer returns and regroups from tough road trip

There are no games that can be taken for granted. This is a lesson that the 11th-ranked Middlebury women’s soccer team learned in their season-opening weekend, as they returned from their road trip with a loss and a tie against Tufts and Babson, respectively. Although the Panthers had beaten both these teams last season, Tufts in a thrilling OT victory and Babson in the Round of 32 during NCAA playoffs, Middlebury was unable to come up with a win in the inhospitable Boston environs.

“It was not the way we wanted to start the season,” said tri-captain Drew Smith ’11 of the team’s results, however, she added that they are learning from every game and have plenty of positives to take away from the weekend. The team is struggling to adjust to the loss of several key defenders to graduation, including All-American and 2010 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee Anjuli Demers ’10, who anchored the defense at center back.

However, standout play from the team’s large sophomore class is a promising sign that the Panthers will soon get their season back on track, and will remain contenders for the NESCAC crown down the line. An opening weekend of upsets and surprises has ensured that the NESCAC division remains wide open, as perennial favorites Williams tied Wesleyan and Amherst tied the lowly Bates Bobcats.

Starting their season with an away game against Tufts was an obvious challenge for the Panthers, who are developing a history of rivalry with their Medford opponents. The team prepared intensely with focused and motivated practices last week, however, Middlebury came out onto the field a little flat and the Jumbos stunned them with an early goal 10 minutes in from freshman Maeve Stewart, who started her collegiate career off with a bang and went on to collect a hat trick, scoring the other two goals of the contest in the second half.

Amy Schlueter ’13, a potent offensive threat for the Panthers, had a chance to equalize with a shot that hit the crossbar, but the half ended with Tufts holding a 1-0 advantage. This lead was soon to be extended, however, as Tufts emerged from halftime fired up and Steward notched her second goal just 1:36 into the action. The  first-year phenom scored again just nine minutes later, to conclude the scoring for the Jumbos.

Tri-captain Lauryn Torch ’11 demonstrated her beastly goal-keeping abilities by saving a penalty kick later in the half, however the Panther offense was unable to muster a goal and the game concluded with a Tufts’ 3-0 victory.

“We were outplayed by a team that displayed more intensity and passion than we did,” said Coach Peter Kim. “The team left the match extremely disappointed in our individual performances.”

The following day, Middlebury visited Wheaton, determined to right the ship and “win their battles everywhere on the field,” according to Kim. The Panthers played the Lions, ranked fourth in New England, to a 1-1 tie after 110 minutes and demonstrated significant improvement over their previous day’s effort. Middlebury controlled possession in the first half, and collected their first goal on the season early in the second half off of a Smith cross headed in by Kirsten Lundquist ’11. The Lions soon answered however, and the remainder of the game, despite good scoring opportunities from both sides, was scoreless. Torch ended with two saves, one at point-blank range, and the Panthers headed back to Middlebury to regroup for this weekend’s home double-header vs. Trinity and Skidmore.