The Middlebury Panthers (12-0-4, 7-0-3 NESCAC) defeated the Ephs (8-6-2, 3-5-2 NESCAC) in the first round of playoffs for the NESCAC Men’s Soccer Championship. This match was the second time the teams had faced each other in five days, following both teams’ final regular season game on Tuesday last week, where the game ended in a 0-1 loss for the Ephs that was decided only by a contested penalty kick.
The loss, however, did not impact the Ephs’ confidence in anticipation of the NESCAC Quarterfinals. The competitiveness of last Tuesday’s game bolstered the Ephs to again take on Middlebury, the conference’s undefeated No. 1 seed.
The Ephs pressed the Panthers offensively early, holding onto possession tightly as the match began. Just three minutes into the game, midfielder David Wang ’25 fired a shot on goal that was only narrowly deterred by the outstretched hands of the Panthers’ goalkeeper.
Though the teams traded possession evenly throughout the first half, it was the Panthers who managed to break the deadlock. With a long throw-in into the box followed by a header into the goal, the Panthers scored in the 21st minute. Though the Ephs responded forcefully, nearly converting on their ensuing counterattack, the Panthers pushed back, taking their resulting goal kick down the field and doubling their lead in the 24th minute.
The Ephs maintained a resolve that they carried into the second half despite the 2-0 deficit, fighting to close in on the Panthers’ lead by firing shots on goal, commanding possession, and maintaining a firm defense. Both teams held off each other’s scoring attempts, keeping the score at 2-0 and cementing the loss for the Ephs.
But the score was not reflective of the game’s competitiveness, co-captain and defender Eamon Gara Grady ’23.5 said.
“I thought we came out really well on Saturday …and then just conceded an early goal, and that kind of changes the moment,” he said. “We still had plenty of chances in the first half, but it just didn’t come off for whatever reason. I think we played them tight in both games — the scoreline was different, but I thought both games were contested.”
Midfielder Andrew Coelho ’27 agreed. “If you look at the scoreline, 2-0 kind of looks like [the game] wasn’t really a battle,” he said. “And I feel like anybody who was at the game or watching the game kind of knows that it could have gone either way.”
The Ephs and Panthers have met five times before in the NESCAC Quarterfinals, with the most recent match leveling the score to three wins each. Midfielder Spencer Mix ’27 emphasized the contentious history of the broader conference. “With NESCAC, all the teams are so close in terms of skill level that every game is a really close game, regardless of who you play against,” he said.
Coelho noted his appreciation for the team’s competitive resolve throughout every game of the season so far.
“Something that I’m really proud of is that in every game we’ve played in, it’s been a battle, whether we won 4-0 or lost 2-0, no matter what happened, every single game,” he said. “It felt like we worked really hard and competed the whole game… And if you can fight in every game that you play in at that point, it just comes down to if the ball goes in, or if it doesn’t.
Despite this weekend’s loss, the team hopes to be selected for an at-large bid by the NCAA Div. III selection committee for a spot in the NCAA Div. III Championships on Nov. 6 during the livestreamed annual Men’s Selection Show. Last year, the Ephs secured an at-large bid after losing to Tufts in the NESCAC Quarterfinals and staged a Cinderella run in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting three nationally ranked opponents on their way to the Championship final against the University of Chicago.
In the days leading up to Monday’s selection committee, the Ephs plan on controlling what they can.
“We’re just trying to use all the opportunities,” said head coach Steffen Siebert, who coached the team through last season’s successful bid. “We have to train and try to be as prepared as we possibly can. We have the motto, ‘Win the day,’ and we just want to keep winning every day, whatever that means: getting tactically more prepared, getting fitter for the season, helping the injured guys to get healthier.”
“As corny as that sounds, we’re not thinking about next Monday[’s selection show] right now,” he added. “We just want to make sure we have a good training day today.”
Whatever does happen on Monday, the team has much to be proud of. Gara Grady applauded all the members of the team for stepping up and filling the shoes left behind by last year’s large graduating class, praising the first-years in particular for their contributions to team culture both on and off the field.
“If this is the end, I’m excited about what these guys are going to show you for the next two, three, four years —if it’s not, I know the guys are ready,” he said.
