Martin Drolet
MEN’S SOCCER HAS 1-2 WEEK
September 19, 2011
Norwich held Middlebury scoreless for 53 minutes before the Panthers exploded for four goals in a non-conference match at Howard Field on Tuesday. Junior Brett Brazier (Okemos, Mich.) finally broke through the Norwich defense in the 54th minute to open up the floodgates and score the first of four Panther goals in the final 36 minutes of the match en route to a 4-0 win.
Brazier dribbled around two Norwich defenders inside the penalty box and then placed a low shot to the far post out of the reach of NU goalkeeper Christian Hallstrom to finally break the ice and put Middlebury up 1-0.
Middlebury struck again 7:34 later when senior Robbie Redmond (Morristown, N.J.) converted on a penalty kick after classmate Tyler Macnee (Williston, Vt.) was taken down in the box to push the Panthers’ lead to 2-0.
Hallstrom guessed right on the shot by diving to his right, but Redmond placed the ball perfectly inside the post leaving Hallstrom no chance.
Middlebury added two more insurance tallies in the final five minutes with sophomore Josh Lyvers (Harvard, Mass.) and junior Jack Freeman (Ridgewood, N.J.) picking up the tallies. Lyvers flicked a service from sophomore Sam Peisch (Still River, Mass.) over the head of Hallstrom after the NU goalkeeper came off his line to try and cut down the angle of the shot.
Freeman buried his chance far post in the 88th minute after a loose ball came right to him on the left side of the penalty box.
Middlebury outshot Norwich 30-3 and had 11 corner kicks to the Cadets’ three. Hallstrom recorded four saves to fall to 1-2 on the season while Middlebury senior goalkeeper Tim Cahill (S. Glastonbury, Conn.) was untested recording his first win of 2011.
Colby’s Nick Aubin scored the game’s only goal 4:28 into overtime to lift the Mules (2-1) to a 1-0 overtime victory over Middlebury to spoil the Panthers’ home-opener on Saturday.
Nate Tolman carried the ball down the middle before finding Aubin wide open on the left win. Aubin cut towards the goal and then lifted a beautiful shot into the top far corner of the net for the game-winner. The Panthers held a 15-4 shots advantage in the game, with Cahill finishing with one save and Ben Joslin making five to earn the shutout for Colby.
Middlebury had a pair of nice chances midway through the first half, but could not get on the board. Freeman’s free kick in the 21st minute hit the left post, while a diving header by Peisch off a cross from senior Martin Drolet (Lachine, Que.) went just wide in the 33rd minute.
Colby had a few chances of their own early in the second half, with Cahill keeping it a scoreless game with a save on a header. The Mules nearly scored in the 62nd minute, with Cahill clearing a shot before Middlebury junior Matt Martin (Kenmore, Wash.) cleared a second attempt off the goal line.
Middlebury’s best look may have come in the 75th minute when sophomore Graham Knisley’s (Wakefield, R.I.) open look went just wide to the right side.
Middlebury dropped its second straight NESCAC contest when they fell at seventh-ranked Amherst, 3-0 on Sunday afternoon. Jae Heo scored a pair of goals and Spencer Noon added another to lead the Jeffs to the win over the #18 Panthers at Hitchcock Field.
Heo needed only six minutes and 45 seconds to put Amherst on the board, and Noon pushed the lead to 2-0 in the 28th minute. The visitors dominated the second half of play, only to have Heo seal the deal with his second tally in the 83rd minute of play.
Amherst improves to 4-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the NESCAC, while the Panthers drop to 1-2-1 (0-2-1).
The Lord Jeffs got on the board in the seventh minute when Heo lined up for a free kick from 25 yards out on the left side of the field. The ball made its way into a crowd of players but was untouched, as it got through the defense and past Cahill, who was screened on the play.
Amherst’s second goal began to take form when Max Fikke played a ball from the center of the field ahead to Noon. Cahill came off his line to challenge Noon, but the Amherst junior snuck a shot by the Middlebury goalie to give the hosts a 2-0 lead 27:40 into the opening half.
The teams had nearly identical statistics in the first 45 minutes, but the second half saw the Panthers take charge. Drolet pushed a diving header just wide of the goal with 31 minutes to play, and Redmond sent a free kick just over the crossbar one minute later.
Drolet had another chance shortly after when he placed a beautiful shot low and to the corner of the goal, but goalkeeper Lennard Kovacs made an outstanding diving stop to his left. The onslaught continued when a free kick attempt from just outside the box was blocked by an Amherst wall of defenders, and an ensuing rebound by Redmond was again blocked by the wall.
Junior Jon Portman (Fair Haven, N.J.) then nearly put one in for the Panthers on an attempt from 20 yards out, but Kovacs punched the ball over his net. The ensuing corner kick resulted in good shots by senior Alex Colucci (Westfield, N.J.) and Redmond, with the second being smothered by Kovacs to end an impressive stretch of offense by the visitors.
The momentum Middlebury had built up throughout the second half was all for naught, as Heo carried the ball along the left sideline and dribbled himself into the 18-yard box. Cahill was forced off his line, and Heo calmly snuck a shot inside the far post to make it a 3-0 game with only 7:52 on the clock, which proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome.
Kovacs finished with six saves, five of which came in the second half, while Cahill stopped two shots for Middlebury. The Panthers held a 13-2 shot advantage in the final 45 minutes (17-7 overall) and attempted the only three corner kicks of the second half.
Saturday’s result snapped Middlebury’s three-game head-to-head winning streak, as the Lord Jeffs returned the favor after being shut out twice by their conference rival last year.
• Men’s soccer record: 1-2-1
• Up next: 9/24 @ Bowdoin
