Middlebury beat Amherst 16-4 on Saturday, April 8 under sunny 70 degree

skies! Hard to believe now that we have a bunch of snow sitting on the

ground with more in the forecast!

Amherst was actually up 1-0 after the 1st Quarter, due mostly to excellent

goaltending by the Amherst goalie who is very good. We needed a game in

which we did not blow the team out early, so this was just what the doctor

ordered. Things picked up a little in the 2nd when we outscored them 4-0 to

take a 4-1 halftime lead. The 3rd Quarter was all Middlebury as we

outscored them 8-2 to blow the game open.

The attack again led us in scoring with Holt Hopkins getting 6, Dave Seeley

3 and Zach Herbert 2. The balance on our attack can create some difficult

match ups for opponents.

The midfield scoring was scattered, but there play was more than solid. The

key to our midfield play is that they expend tons of energy denying their

man the ball since our long sticks are so good. They are also doing a great

job breaking upfield and starting fast breaks and slow breaks which has

created easier opportunities for our attack.

The long sticks were great on Saturday. Jed Raymond was taking the ball

away all day, Nick Lesher is a sophomore long stick middie who is playing

great, and Sebby Astrada is another sophomore who won the game ball for

playing great D, picking up lots of ground balls and pushing the ball

upfield. The other long sticks are Ben Fritz (a senior captain who has

played consistently well and also scored his second goal of the season vs.

Amherst), Brian Nickel a junior, and B.L. Reid a junior long stick

midfielder. These guys give us 6 man depth that allows us to play up-tempo,

pressure defense.

I have not mentioned our goalie, Dave Campbell, very often this year. It is

a case of taking a great player for granted. He has been outstanding and

played well again on Saturday. Other than being a great "stopper", he gets

us going with amazing outlet passes to start our fast breaks. He has always

been a great outlet goalie, our middies are finally catching up to his level

and getting open for him.

Next up is UVM. Who knows how, when and where we will play this one!

Vermont has a foot of snow and we are scheduled to play Wednesday.

Unfortunately, our women play home Wednesday, so we cannot simply switch the

game down here. We are exploring other dates. I will keep you informed.

We play Bowdoin Saturday at Bowdoin at 1:00. Other than us, they are the

top NESCAC team this year, so it should be a classic Middlebury/Bowdoin

battle!

Erin