MIDDLEBURY — No. 6 seed Connecticut College upset the No. 2 seed Middlebury men’s soccer team in Sunday’s NESCAC playoff final, 3-1, but the 14-1-3 Panthers, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III in the final regular season poll, will still host an NCAA regional this weekend after being awarded an at-large berth on Monday.

The 10-2-6 Camels earned the NESCAC’s automatic NCAA berth after winning the NESCAC postseason title. Middlebury and Connecticut joined a NESCAC parade into the NCAA tournament: Tufts, Williams, Bowdoin, Wesleyan, Hamilton and Amherst also received NCAA bids into the 64-team field.

The Panthers will host Hunter (6-11-2) at 11 a.m. on Saturday, with Rowan (12-4-5) and Vassar (12-3-3) squaring off at 1:30 p.m. The winners will meet at 1 p.m. on Sunday. It is possible the Panthers could also host a sectional the following weekend.

Coach Alex Elias said his team was disappointed this past Sunday not to claim the NESCAC playoff final, but he acknowledged the Panthers’ trouble with their finishing touches, while crediting the Camels.

PANTHER FORWARD EDUARDO Casanova makes a play on the ball despite some extracurricular activity by a Bowdoin defender during this Middlebury’s NESCAC semifinal win this past Saturday.
Independent photo/Steve James

“I think we created enough chances. We just didn’t take them. It’s a game of fine margins, and I think they were better in the box than we were,” he said. “But it’s a good team. They do a lot of things well, and they make it hard to play.”

That said, even after Sunday’s setback, Elias added the Panthers knew there would be more to play for.

“It’s not the end of the road for us,” he said. “When you lose and don’t end your season, you can fix some things and go on. That’s a luxury.”

Now it’s time to refocus, Elias said after Sunday’s game.

“We’ve got to set our eyes on the next tournament, which is the national tournament, and we have so much confidence we can achieve our goal in the next four weeks,” he said. “We’ve got to get better, and the guys know that, so we’ll be OK.” 

SUNDAY FINAL

The Camels’ best early chance came in the fifth minute on a foray deep into the Panther box by Gavin Vanden Berg, but Middlebury center back William O’Brien dispossessed him

Three minutes later Panther Tyler Payne one-timed a Kyle Nilsson feed from the right, but Camel goalie Peter Silvester was well positioned to make the first of his seven saves.

In the 13th minute O’Brien and fellow center back Liam Madden both blocked dangerous bids by Matt Scoffone. Five minutes later Scoffone broke loose, but Panther goalie Joey Waterman took his shot off his chest for one of his five saves. 

Connecticut College struck first at 21:38. Marco Perugini broke in from the left past two defenders and laced a shot home from just inside the box. 

MIDDLEBURY FORWARD GAVIN Randolph cuts past Bowdoin defender Paul Surkov Middlebury’s NESCAC semifinal win this past Saturday
Independent photo/Steve James

Ari Klayman equalized for the Panthers five minutes later. Colin Dugan served a corner from the left that Klayman nodded in low off the far post. 

Middlebury controlled most of the rest of the half. In the 32nd minute Silvester blocked a Nilsson shot from the right, and the rebound bounced to Hugo Horwitz moving in from near the penalty stripe. Horwitz’s shot ricocheted between Silvester’s legs and rolled toward the goal line, but the goalie scrambled back to cover the ball before it crossed the stripe.

Three minutes later, Dugan sent another corner from the left into the box, but Nilsson’s header banged off the crossbar.

The Camels took the lead 10 minutes after halftime. Panther back Owen Davis made a goal-line save, but Sam Boehm collected the rebound near the top of the box and sent it goalward. Vanden Berg redirected it out of the air into the bottom left corner.

Klayman almost tied the game 15 minutes into the half. He worked past two Camels and fired at the lower right corner, but. Silvester dove for the save. 

The Panthers pressed, with five corner kicks over the dozen minutes, but failed to develop a serious threat. One last opportunity came in the 76th minute. Silvester turned aside a Horwitz bid, but it bounced to an open Dugan with some open net beckoning — but his shot sailed it over the bar.

The Camels padded their lead less than a minute later. Elliot Spatz controlled on the top left of the box and beat three defenders as he worked across the 18 before turning and firing a bullet back into the lower left corner at 13:45. 

PANTHER COLIN DUGAN touches the ball around lunging Bowdoin goalie Alex Ainsworth during Middlebury’s NESCAC semifinal win this past Saturday, but he saw a Polar Bear defender deny him on the goal line.
Independent photo/Steve James

Middlebury earned two more corners and a dangerous free kick. Silvester made a routine save on an O’Brien header and snared the other two serves as he commanded the box, and time ran out on the Panthers. 

“Conn started the game playing well, got a good goal,” Elias said. “I thought we fought back well, had a lot of momentum from our goal to the end of the first half. They were really clinical in the second half and did some things well.”

Ultimately, Elias said, it came down to finishing.

“The keeper made some good saves. We were very close on a couple, but we have ultimately to be better,” he said.

SATURDAY SEMIFINAL

On Saturday, Nilsson netted a header in the 36th minute that proved to be the only of the semifinal with feisty No. 8 seed Bowdoin. 

The 7-5-5 Polar Bears, who had upset top seed Tufts in penalty kicks, played strong defense, moved the ball well, and forced Waterman to make eight saves. 

Middlebury also created threats, but only managed three shots on target, one saved by Bowdoin goalie Alex Ainsworth and one blocked by a defender. 

Waterman had a save in the first minute, reacting quickly to a free kick that Polar Bear Jack Banks deflected on target. In the first 11 minutes Dugan also just missed wide twice.

PANTHER FORWARD WILL Sawin stretches for a ball served into the Bowdoin box Middlebury’s NESCAC semifinal win this past Saturday, but Bowdoin goalie Alex Ainsworth beats him to it just before the two collided.
Independent photo/Steve James

In the 19th minute, Banks sent a header at the bottom right corner, but Waterman was there to snare it.

The Panthers then took control of the game for the next 15 minutes with better poise and ball movement, and it paid off with the goal. 

From the left, Keagan Harder sent a ball toward the goalmouth. Nilsson dove through a crowd and headed against the grain into the bottom left corner.

The Panthers had a chance late in the half. Dugan worked past three Polar Bears and had an open goal, but defender Paul Surkov dove to block the ball with his back in the center of the net. Another Panther had a shot at the rebound, but skied it over the bar.

Late in the half, Waterman tipped a long Surkov bid over the bar. Bowdoin had chances in the second half, but Tyler Payne blocked one early, and Waterman denied Tyler Huck and Keito Ishibashi to secure his 10th shutout of the fall and the Panthers’ berth in Sunday’s final.