Friday, October 16, 2009

Middlebury Mens College Soccer Gunning For Another NCAA Tournament Berth

One of the most successful intercollegiate athletic programs in the country happens to be at the NCAA Div. 3 level. Middlebury College, located in picturesque Middlebury, VT near the Green Mountains, has won 29 NCAA National Championships. One of those championships is claimed by the Mens Soccer program.

The Panthers won the Soccer program's first national title back in 2007 going 18-2-2 on the season. A year ago, Middlebury reached the NCAA Sectional Finals before losing in penalty kicks to Stephens Institute. This year, the Panthers are 5-3-2 with a 1-0 win over Castleton St. 3 days ago.

They haven't scored a lot of goals this year, but Jr. Midfielder Carson Cornbrooks from Williston, VT, leads the Panthers in goals with three on the season. Middlebury has played very well defensively, especially the man between the pipes. Soph. Goal Keeper Tim Cahill, a native of Glastonbury, Connecticut, has 34 saves on the season and ranks 6th in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) in goals against with a 0.95 goals against average.

The Panthers may struggle this year to win the conference title again. Right now they sit in 7th place in the NESCAC at 1-2-2 with an overall record of 5-3-2. However, most of the roster is made up of upper class men, including 7 seniors, who were on the national championship team two years ago. Head Coach David Saward is in his 25th year at the helm of the Mens Soccer Program and is the winningest coach in the history of Midlebury Mens Soccer with a record of 251-83-36. That would be among the best records of any college soccer coach. The Panthers will try to climb up the conference standings when they host Connecticut College
Saturday, Oct. 17 at 11am.

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