MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s soccer team won a pair of recent games, a league game on the road and a non-league home contest, to run its winning streak to four straight. Middlebury is 7-3-1, 5-3-1 in NESCAC, a league record that as of Monday was good for second place in a tight race. The Panthers will play at Wesleyan on Saturday as they seek to nail down a first-round home NESCAC playoff game on Nov. 2.
On Saturday, Middlebury won its third straight NESCAC game as the Panthers earned a 2-1 road win at Bates (4-6-2, 0-6-2 NESCAC).
Harper Williams opened the scoring for Middlebury in the 44th minute with his second goal of the season. Adam Glaser added a second tally for the visitors with an assist from Noah Goss-Woliner in the 53rd minute.
Tyler Grees gave life to the Bobcats with his third goal of the season, but the hosts could not find the equalizer.
Bates goalkeeper Joe Maffly-Kipp made a season-high 11 saves, while Middlebury goalie Ethan Collins stopped five shots. The Panthers held advantages in shots (19-13) and shots on goal (13-6).
On Tuesday, the Panthers pounded visiting non-league foe Castleton, 9-1, snapping the 10-3-2 Spartans’ eight-game unbeaten streak. Middlebury also hosted Southern Vermont on Wednesday in a game played after the deadline for this edition of the Independent.
Vs. CSC, Middlebury scored three goals in a 3:36 span in the first half to take the lead. Greg Conrad opened the scoring at 18:20, converting a Dan Skayne cross. Skayne scored one of his own at 20:32, finding the back of the net on a feed from Glaser. Glaser netted his team-leading seventh of the year at 21:56, scoring with a shot to the left side after a pass from Skayne.
The Panthers netted two goals in seven seconds to make it 5-0. Deklan Robinson scored on a header on a cross from Williams, while Alex Davidson netted the first of his career after a pass from Glaser. Brandon Robinson scored his first career goal with 1:04 left in the half on a penalty kick.
Castleton broke up the shutout early in the second half, when Jake Tietgens converted after some quick passing in the box. Conrad scored his second of the game at 71:03, while Tim Ogle and Tyler Bonini added the first goals of their careers.
Middlebury held a 24-5 shots advantage, with a 7-2 edge in corner kicks. Collins made one save in the first half before giving way to Duncan Piper, who made a pair of second half stops in his collegiate debut. Nate Koenemann earned seven saves for the Spartans.