In a rematch of last year’s NESCAC Championship game, the Amherst men’s soccer team again found itself on the wrong end of the score, as it fell to the Middlebury Panthers, 1-0, last Saturday. The Jeffs (1-1-0) will try to rebound from the loss and climb back up the NESCAC standings when they host their first home game of the season against Bates College on September 20.
The Panthers took the lead early and kept the Jeffs’ offense under wraps for the rest of the contest, holding on to make their slim lead stand up. In the eighth minute, Middlebury found the net with a header by Harrison Watkins ’11 off a free kick into the penalty box by Baer Fisher ’09. In the second half, the Jeffs were able to keep Middlebury scoreless while looking for a goal of their own to tie the game. First-year goalkeeper Lennard Kovacs made a pair of stops to keep the Jeffs close. However, the team could not create any significant scoring opportunities to equalize and, as the sound of the final whistle faded, so too did the team’s hopes of a repeat undefeated season.
“We didn’t play well enough to win, and that’s all that matters,” said David Masterman ’12. “Even if Middlebury hadn’t scored that first goal early in the game, I don’t think we played well in general.”
Amherst Head Coach Justin Serpone took the loss hard. “Middlebury is the defending National Champion for a reason,” he said. “They defend better than any team I’ve seen in Division III and have most of the same faces on the field that they did a year ago. What really impressed me was how hard they competed on Saturday. We were outclassed the entire game, in every aspect—offensively, defensively and coaching. If anyone saw the game, they can attest to how one-sided the contest was. We were lucky to get out with a 1-0 result. It could have easily been a 3- or 4-0 score.”
Although the game was disheartening for both team and coach, the Jeffs are putting their best foot forward and looking ahead to their next game against Bates College. The loss is hardly a season-ender; despite the disappointment of last weekend’s game, if the team regroups and stays on track with preseason predictions, it should have up to two more opportunities to retaliate against the Panthers. The Jeffs are likely to see Middlebury in the NESCAC playoffs and possibly later, still, in NCAA Tournament play.
“I hope we do get another chance at them,” stated Masterman. “Nothing is guaranteed in this league. From what I’ve heard from the older players, every team has a chance to beat any team on any given day. We are going to work our hardest to ensure that we do have that chance and get to the playoffs.”
In the meantime, though, the Jeffs are living by the philosophy that there are no easy games. Thus, as much as Amherst covets revenge against the Panthers, the Jeffs recognize that they won’t achieve it unless they take care of the other games on their schedule, starting with the home opener this weekend against the Bates Bobcats at Hitchcock Field.
“Bates is going to be a tough challenge for us,” said senior captain and defender Rory O’Connor. “They are a very solid team, and that game will require all our focus.”