Ephs fall to Middlebury in third round of NCAA tournament 3-0
MIDDLEBURY, Vermont - The Williams men’s soccer team fell
to conference foe Middlebury 3-0 in the third round of the NCAA
tournament Saturday. The Panthers advance to tomorrows
sectional final against York, who played Amherst to a tie but
advanced on penalty kicks. The loss marks the end of the 2007
campaign for the Ephs, who ended with an overall record of
12-5-2.
Middlebury was a familiar foe for the Ephs, having both lost and
tied the Panthers already this season in two tightly contested
matches. However, the third installment in the Eph-Panther
series proved less dramatic as the Panthers controlled play
throughout, limiting Eph scoring opportunities and swarming all
over the Eph defense.
The Panthers notched their first goal at the 28:18 as ace forward
Casey Ftorek took a Baer Fischer pass and slipped a shot across the
face of Eph keeper Andrew Graham (2 saves) and into the net. The
Panthers didn’t let up and struck again ten minutes later,
when forward Stephan Hart took a Ftorek pass and drilled a low hard
line-drive into the corner of the net.
The score would remain 2-0 at half, with the Panthers holding a
7-2 shot advantage.
The Panthers solidified their lead early in the second half,
needing only six minutes to capitalize on an uncharacteristic
miscue by Graham; who, after fielding the ball, saw his clearing
effort get intercepted by Middlebury forward David LaRocca who
escorted the ball into the open net.
The Ephs almost got on the board in the 75th minute, but Sam
Empsons arching shot slammed into the goalpost. Williams was unable
to create another good scoring opportunity, and the game ended with
the score 3-0.
