Middlebury was defeated today in the NCAA Quarterfinals 12-8 at Cortland.  The 1st Quarter saw Cortland take a 2-1 lead on two blistering outside low to high shots.  We were hanging in there, however, with quality possessions at our offensive end, giving us the feeling that we would get our opportunities.  There was a sense of foreboding about our ability to limit their quality shots, however, and they were patient as well.  Even with Cortland having the edge in the 1st Quarter there was no sense that the game would get away from us.  That is just what happened in the 2nd Quarter, though. 

The 2nd Quarter proved to be the key to the outcome of the game.  The Cortland possessions were patient and generated quality shots.  Meanwhile, we had 6 opportunities in the 2nd Quarter: 1 resulted in a fast break goal, 1 resulted in a save on a fast break and 4 were unforced turnovers.  That was the game.  They outscored us 5-1 in the quarter to take a 7-2 halftime lead.  While I say the turnovers were "unforced" that probably is not entirely accurate.  All 4 turnovers were by midfielders being defended by short sticks just getting muscled and losing the ball.  The Cortland short stick defenders did a nice job of being physical without getting beat and we did not handle the pressure well.  Cortland also did a nice job athletically between the lines, riding and costing us a few more possessions.

Although the 2nd Quarter proved to be the difference, being down by 5 at the half did not guarantee we would lose.  Another lackluster quarter in the 3rd did that.  It was a similar quarter to the second, but did not result in as bad a score. However, it did put us in a deep hole.  They continued to play well on all fronts, offense, defense, goaltending, face offs, riding.  It would not be until the game looked over that we would finally play well.  We went on a furious 6-0 run in the 4th, making the game interesting at 11-8 at one point.  We ran out of time, however, and gave up a 12th goal with the goalie out.  The curious thing is that we made it look easy to score goals during that stretch and scored them quickly.  It is difficult to say why that did not happen for the first three and a half quarters, but sometimes you just have to give credit to your opponent; they were, in fact, very good.

It is always disappointing to end on a loss, but this team had a great season.  They overcame early season injuries and adversity to have a great run, win several close, dramatic games and had quite a NESCAC playoff weekend.  They also ran youth clinics, raised money for MetroLacrosse, produced 4 Scholar All American candidates and had some fun along the way.  Thanks for all of your support this season!

All the best,
Erin