MIDDLEBURY — In recent action the Middlebury College men’s soccer team picked up a home tie against undefeated NESCAC foe Tufts and went on the road for a non-league victory. In the team’s past five games, Middlebury is 3-0-2 and has outscored its opposition, 16-3, with two shutouts.
The Panthers improved to 5-2-3, 2-2-2 NESCAC, and will head to league foe Trinity on Saturday.
On this past Saturday the Panthers and Tufts (9-0-1, 5-0-1 NESCAC) settled for a 1-1 tie. The Jumbos entered the contest ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III.
Panther Daniel O’Grady gave Middlebury the lead with a penalty kick 1:10 into the contest after Ben Potter drew the foul.
Tufts knotted the score at 25:25, on a Sterling Weatherbie’s header set up by a free kick.
Three minutes into the second half Potter’s rising shot from the top of the penalty area went just over the crossbar. Tufts had back-to-back chances midway through the frame on shots by Zach Lane, but Middlebury keeper Matthew Hyer (four saves) corralled each bid.
Middlebury’s Henry Wilhelm had the only shot on goal in the first overtime, while Lane had the only shot in the second. Jumbo goalie Conner Mieth finished with one save.
On Monday the Panthers blanked host Utica, 6-0. Utica, which received a dozen saves from Randy Miksch, dropped to 4-8-1. Hyer played most of the game in goal for the Panthers and recorded one save.
Scoring for Middlebury were O’Grady, from Drew Goulart in the second minute; Aidan Robinson, from Goulart in the 29th minute; Brendan Barry, from O’Grady in the 43rd minute; Kyle Moffat, from Ben Potter in the 60th minute; Robinson, on a corner kick in the 74th minute; and Jacob LaBranche from Davis Oudet in the 83rd minute. The Panthers earned advantages of 27-1 in shots and 10-1 in corner kicks.