Middlebury, VT – In the final regular-season game of the year, two NESCAC rivals entered the day level in the standings, both teams posting a record of 7-7 overall and 5-4 in the NESCAC. In a back-and-forth battle, the Middlebury Panthers (8-7, 6-4) pulled out the victory, maintaining a late lead to win 13-10 over the Williams College Ephs (7-8, 5-5).
Despite an early 3-1 lead for the Panthers, the Ephs looked to gain some momentum before the end of the first quarter.
Pearse Glavin would find
Jake Haase who buried his 29
th goal of the year with just a minute remaining in the frame.
Calvin Caputo would quickly add on just twenty seconds later with his team-leading 33
rd goal of the year, and second on the day, to level the score.
Middlebury would provide a statement answer, going on a four-goal run to begin the second quarter. They would fire home these goals in just three and a half minutes, not giving the Ephs a chance to settle into their offensive structure. Williams was able to snag two unassisted goals by
Harrison Cross and
Spencer Goodbar, before the Panthers would score three more times to enter the locker room up 10-5.
To start the second half, both teams began to ramp up the defense, each offense only able to find the back of the net once in the third quarter. Williams' goaltender
Matt Freitas was able to keep the Ephs in the game, making 5 saves in the quarter. The defense also stepped up in a big way, battling all game long in physical matchups with the three, star Middlebury attackmen.
Williams was poised to make a late strike at the Panthers, despite being stymied for the opening five minutes of the final quarter.
Calvin Caputo would accept a feed from Haase on a man-up advantage and smartly finish in the low corner to get the ball rolling. Haase would follow up with one of his own, cutting the lead to three.
Owen Roegge would finish off a pass from Glavin just thirty seconds later before
Jake Haase would provide an unassisted goal to bring the Ephs within one with a minute and a half remaining in the game.
The Ephs would be unable to double the Middlebury attackman, Tyler Forbes, who calmly finished to add to the Panthers lead late in the game, before they would add another just fifteen seconds later, essentially wrapping up the game.
The Ephs end the regular season at 5-5 in the NESCAC, good enough for sixth position and a shot at upsetting on the road, their opponent to be determined later tonight. The Ephs will play again this weekend on Saturday, April 30
th as they look to advance to the semi-finals the following weekend. Good luck Ephs!
