BENNINGTON, Vt. – A strong second stanza padded a one-goal halftime lead for Middlebury College as the visiting Panthers took down the Southern Vermont College men's soccer team 4-0 Wednesday afternoon at Everett Field in non-conference play.
MC sophomore Greg Conrad (Peabody, Massachusetts) scored two goals on the day, including what proved to be the game winner, and added an assist in the win.
The Mountaineers held tough through the opening 35 minutes of play, turning away quality Panther drives at goal. Middlebury was quick to pull the trigger within 30 yards from the net, totaling 20 shots in the first half. However, only eight of those were on frame including one off the foot of senior Brandon Robinson (Rye, New York) that was just tipped over the crossbar by SVC freshman goaltender Cody Gross (Fair Lawn, New Jersey) to keep it at 0-0 at the 25:06 mark.
MC sophomore Philip Skayne (Boxborough, Massachusetts) later finessed through and beat the Southern Vermont defense, going one-on-one at the keeper into the box. Gross was forced to leave his feet and make a full extension to his right, getting his hands on the Skayne shot to preserve the scoreless stalemate in the 33rd minute.
The Panthers finally broke the tie and got on the scoreboard with just under seven minutes to play in the opening half when Conrad netted his first of the day and the 2014 season. A great ball up the middle by junior Andres Rodlauer (McLean, Virginia) found Conrad's feet, and the sophomore was able to finish with a slotted shot to the left side of the goal, beating a diving Gross for the 1-0 advantage.
Six minutes into the second half, Middlebury extended its lead with a well-executed give-and-go play. Panther sophomore Adam Glaser (Washington, D.C.) collected the ball towards the middle of the field 15 yards into Mountaineer territory. He found Conrad towards the right side and took off down the field behind SVC defenders, popping out onside where he received a pass right back headed towards the goal. Glaser finished with his fourth goal of the season on a nice shot across the frame to the left side of the net to make it 2-0.
Almost 11 minutes later at the 60:52 mark, Conrad put home his second of the season after collecting a pass from sophomore Kirk Horton (San Francisco, California). Conrad carried the ball down the left side and into the box before getting off a shot that beat Gross for the second time in the match. With just over five minutes to play, Middlebury added its fourth goal on a finish by senior Dan Skayne (Boxborough, Massachusetts); Panther freshman Enzo Wiener (Salt Lake City, Utah) executed a great through ball that found Dan Skayne on the backend for an open put-in, his first goal of the season.
MC sophomore keeper Greg Sydor (Madison, Connecticut) collected the win in net (3-0-1), posting one save in his 75:19 of action. Gross turned away 13 Panther shots while suffering the loss (0-5).
SVC is now 0-5 overall on the season after being alerted Wednesday that last week's loss against Pine Manor College will not count for the 2014 season record, as PMC has not yet been approved of NCAA varsity status. Middlebury improves to 3-0-1 on the year with the win.
The Mountaineers continue their home stand Friday with a 3:30 p.m. start against the University of Maine at Fort Kent. Middlebury turns back to New England Small College Athletic Conference action with a 12 p.m. home match against Bowdoin College on Saturday.