By Johnny Alexandre '22
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The fifth-seeded Connecticut College women's soccer team was unable to take down the fourth-seeded Middlebury College Panthers, losing by a score of 2-1 at South Street Field in Middlebury, Vermont in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Tournament.
The scoreless first half was not without scoring opportunities from each team. In about the fifth minute of the game, senior
Kat Norton (Hampton, Conn.) found herself in space, receiving a cross in front of the net, but missed the net wide to the left when she was pressurized and forced to act too soon.
A little while later, Norton would again find herself in space with the ball in the same area, in the top left corner of the 18-yard box. She would fire a cross through all Middlebury defenders, but unfortunately, the ball couldn't find a Camel on the receiving end to punch it in. Connecticut College's leading scorer, junior
Mya Johnson (Old Lyme, Conn.), was quiet in the first 45 minutes, but had her best chance of the half when she volleyed a ball from a distance just over the Middlebury net. Connecticut College survived a last-minute threat when Middlebury's Eliza Robinson just missed high off the crossbar in the 43rd minute.
About eight minutes into the second half, at the 54-minute mark, the Camels would force a turnover at about midfield and the ball would find Johnson in space running down the pitch. With defenders closing in, she led a through ball pass to her teammate
Kat Norton. Norton, advancing, fired a cross into the Middlebury 18-yard box. The ball, headed out by the Middlebury defenders, found its way to Connecticut College's
Clare Mulvihill (West Caldwell, N.J.), who was able to take a touch and pound the ball into the Middlebury net for the 1-0 lead.
Just minutes later, at the 56-minute mark, Middlebury's Joely Virzi found herself with the ball outside the Connecticut College 18-yard box. Attacking and dribbling into the box, she launched a shot through defenders, that was deflected and redirected, making an incredibly difficult save for sophomore Camel goalkeeper
Sarah Hall (Tualatin, Oregon). Hall was able to get a hand on it, but the ball had too much momentum and found itself into the back of the Camel net, tying the score at 1-1.
Both teams battled for possession, searching for a lead when Middlebury's Ellie Bazier fired a sharp cross through a defender into the Camel box. Middlebury's Eliza Robinson was there to put a touch on it, sending it into the Camel net in the 77th minute for the 2-1 lead.
Despite Middlebury (12-3-1, NESCAC 7-3-1) playing with one less player for the final 10 minutes of the match following Eliza Van Voorhis' red card, and Connecticut College having one more threatening opportunity in the 86th minute off a chip through ball pass from the foot of
Emma Quilty (Hingham, Mass), the Camels were unable to score again.
Middlebury led Connecticut College (9-4-3) in shots, 14-9, shots on goal, 7-4, and corners, 4-1. Hall registered four saves while her counterpart, Poppinga made three.
The Camels will now wait to see if their resume is strong enough to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017. Selections will be announced on Monday, Nov. 8th.
