Middlebury defeated Wesleyan 11-8 in an NCAA Quarterfinal matchup at Middlebury on Wednesday.  The victory sets up a rematch with Nazareth who defeated us last year in the Semifinals.  Wednesday's game was a landmark matchup, pitting two NESCAC teams against each other for the first time in NCAA playoffs.  Wesleyan responded well to their first NCAA experience, playing two road games, coming back from a 7-2 deficit against Springfield to win, and coming back from a 6-3 deficit against us to go ahead 7-6 in the 3rd.  Our team showed great poise when they made their 3rd Quarter run, however, and we were able to prevail in the end.

We started off the game with a couple of average possession against the Wesleyan zone, with the possessions ending in less than ideal shots or turnovers.  We switched up to a couple of new looks we had put in specifically for the Wesleyan goal and our scoring picked up for the quarter.  We had 9 shots in the first, generating 3 goals, 2 of them coming from JP Coviello.  Our hope was that JP would have a strong game, as he is great shooter and finisher, tailor made for the zone.  Although he would not score the rest of the game, his 2 goals were critical to get us loosened up and confident against the zone, since that is not how we started the game.  A lot of the burden of the zone fell on Henry Sheehan who spent most of the game in X, running the offense.  He responded with 4 assists and 1 goal, winning the game ball.  When we decided to award him the game ball we were not certain how many points he had, it was more that his presence against the zone was critical. 

Our defense played very well for long stretches, even dominating at times, but Wesleyan is quick, talented and opportunistic and we could not keep them off the board.  We got overextended a few times vs. their quick attackmen and they were able to ride hard in transition and create several unsettled goals, all trademarks of their team.  Ultimately, our team defense was able to settle down and limit their quality opportunities. Just when you felt the wheels coming off in the 3rd Quarter, Alex Palmisano made a huge 1 v. 0 save, igniting himself and the defense.

You are getting a glimpse into my home life now.  I have to end this abruptly, as Pam is waiting for her laptop so she can leave for work and I have to wake up Hannah so she can put together a flower arrangement for a competition at school today.  So, sorry to end this.  Too many things going on at work to follow up later.