MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s soccer team picked up a home win and a road tie in recent NESCAC action and stand at 5-1-1 overall, 2-1-1 in league play. The Panthers will host league foe Colby at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
On Tuesday, the Panther offense came to life in a 4-2 win over visiting Hamilton (3-4, 1-3 NESCAC).
The visitors scored first, 12:34 into the game, when Mike Lubelczyk headed home a Zack Becker cross from the left side.
The Panthers evened the match in the 29th minute, when Adam Glaser volleyed home Kirk Horton’s cross from the left for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.
Middlebury took the lead at 42:19, when Tom Bean back-heeled a Glaser serve out of the air and into the net.
Middlebury grabbed a two-goal lead at 52:32. Greg Conrad took a Daniel O’Grady pass and worked his way past his defender on the right side and tapped the ball home from six yards out.
The hosts gained a 4-1 lead on a Deklan Robinson penalty kick into the bottom left corner past Hamilton starting goalkeeper Harris Pollack.
Hamilton pulled to within two at 78:35. A knuckling shot by Alec Talsania from 18 yards away slipped through the wet gloves of Middlebury goalie Greg Sydor and just over the goal line.
Middlebury held advantages in both shots (19-6) and corner kicks (4-3). Sydor tallied two saves for the Panthers, while Pollack was credited with five saves in 66:50. Peter Calleri logged the final 23:10 with a pair of stops.
On this past Saturday, the Panthers and host Bowdoin (2-2-2, 1-2-2 NESCAC) played to a scoreless tie.
Connor Keefe had a pair of promising looks in the opening half for Bowdoin, including ringing a shot off the left post 10 minutes into action.
Middlebury had several chances in the second half. Early on, Jeremy Barovick shot wide right after Bowdoin goalie Stevie Van Siclen punched away a Robinson service.
Van Siclen stopped Conrad with a diving save with 25 minutes left to play, and in the 81st minute denied a Kirk Horton header on a Glaser corner kick.
Sydor made four stops for the Panthers, including one in each overtime. The clean sheet gives Sydor three shutouts this fall and 11 for his career in 23 matches. Van Siclen made six stops for the Polar Bears, including one save in overtime. Bowdoin outshot the Panthers, 15-11.