On Commencement Day in Middlebury, the Panthers defeated Nazareth 14-12 in the NCAA Semifinals, earning a berth in next weekend's championship game in Philadelphia.  The game will be played Sunday at Noon vs. the Salisbury Sea Gulls.  Over the past 7-8 years we have created a few great playoff rivalries with Nazareth and Salisbury.  As you know, yesterday's victory avenges a Semifinal loss on Commencement to Nazareth last year.

The day started much like last year, much to our dismay. It was a cold and rainy day, although there were a few pockets without rain, specifically during much of Commencement and our game!  Commencement went well for the seniors and was over fairly early, so they were at the locker room by 12:15 for the 3:00 game.  The start of the game was deja vu from last year, however, as Nazareth was up 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2.  Last year's experience served us well, however, as the seniors were prepared for the mental, emotional and physical challenge of playing on Commencement and the entire team was ready for the challenge of withstanding some furious play by Nazareth.  Remember the 2nd Quarter and 4th Quarters of the Nazareth Semifinal game when you think of this team.  Down 4-2 at the start of the 2nd it would have been easy to be intimidated or discouraged.  Instead, we outshot them 21-4 and outscored them 6-3, staggering statistics for a game of this magnitude.  Had the Nazareth goalie not made several outstanding saves we may have blown the game open in that quarter.  They had no idea what hit them! We had to again summon some courage in the 4th Quarter after going down 10-9 in the 3rd Quarter.  We answered by outscoring them 5-2 in the 4th.

You can read the college website to get more of a play by play.  I would like to summarize some of the outstanding efforts for you, I know I will miss some, maybe even some conspicuous ones! 
Face Off: you can see how far Pete Mellen has come in a year by watching the two Naz games over the past two seasons. He was dominated last year, he dominated this year.  He reminds us of Pete Soden in his relentless style and his ability.  Freshman Dave Campbell assisted Pete more than usual and picked up where Pete left off, a huge spark for us, especially late in the game.  Nazareth uses two face off guys and they pressure the ball intensely if you win the face off, so it would have been impossible for Pete to take them all.
Goaltending: Alex saw some great shots.  He did not get flustered when we were down early and he made some fantastic saves as the game progressed.
Big Goals: They were there when we needed them.  Dave Leach has made it his job to make big plays when we need them. He had a great dodge and assist for a rip by J.P. Coviello when we needed a goal early.  Dave also had a great overhand shot under the crossbar late in the game.  Senior Jamie Duke came up with 2 goals.  If you remember back to the Tufts game, Jamie stepped up and had a couple of big goals in that game, after having struggled earlier in the season. He continued that pace for most of the rest of the year.  He had been shut out the past several games, but responded well to his opportunity on Sunday.
Long Sticks: Brian Phinney and James Guay are stud athletes who are underrated, but not by us!  Will Rawson did an amazing job on Sunday when he got the chance to be on ball, but he played their off-ball player and limited his scoring opportunities.  Will was also great on gb's and clearing.  Ed Brown matched up on their top player, who did get 6 goals (not all 6 v. 6 goals vs. Ed), but Ed also slid well, knocked the stick out of his hands and pressured him more than he is used to seeing.  I thought he played great.
Defensive Short Stick Midfield: Always the heart and soul of our team.  It is one of the things that we do better than just about everyone, if not everyone.  Our middies play defense!  Our designated defensive middies, Mike Murray, Chip Campbell, John Sales and Dave Campbell all played well.  Sales does not get a lot of press, but he gives us valuable depth.  He was a long stick last year, but we needed depth at d-mid and he has given it to us.  He started the season late as he is a starting soccer and hockey player, so you can guess that he gives us athleticism, intensity and poise.  Mike Murray is just a flat out warrior.  He plays so hard for so long, never stops running, he is physical, and gets a ton of gb's.  Chip Campbell is stepping into the d-mid mold nicely this year.  He was an attackman in high school, but we saw something in him in practice late last year that said he might fit the mold.  He was scrappy in practice and athletic in the open field. Those qualities have served him well.  He had two huge goals and won the game ball for us yesterday.

If you can't make the game in Philadelphia you can watch it live on CSTV (College Sports Television on Direct TV.)  Salisbury is as good as ever with the same up-tempo style, so it should prove to be exciting.