We defeated
While the 1st
Quarter was tight, ending at 1-0 Middlebury, we were laying the groundwork for
success later in the game with quality defense and goaltending, good
opportunities on offense, even if they were denied by the goalie, and excellent
riding. In fact, riding would be one of the big differences in the
game. There are always a lot of dead balls on Astroturf, which allows us
to set up in our various rides, including an effective 10 man ride. Our
riding would lead to a number of extra possessions and goals.
It took a
little while to get untracked in the 2nd Quarter, but our offense
showed some signs of waking up and getting control as the quarter
progressed. We started Freshman Jim Cabrera and Sophomore Nick Bastis to give us some athleticism and dodging and it paid
off in opportunities. It also paid off for Cabrera in terms of points as
he had 6 goals and 2 assists. What was most encouraging was that Jim
scored many different ways, dodging, outside shooting, inside with smart crease
play and in transition as a cutter. He can put together big numbers
playing like this without needing to have the ball in his stick the entire game
dodging. While Bastis came up empty in the
scoring column, he showed great promise. Henry Sheehan was bumped out of
the starting lineup by Bastis, but responded well
with 2 goals and 2 assists. That kind of depth at Attack should prove
helpful as the season wears on. The rest of the story on offense is
balance with a number of players netting a goal, while Junior Midfielder Travis
Meyer had one goal and 3 assists. Travis has developed a knack for
finding Cabrera, resulting in 6 assists thus far this season from the midfield,
while he had 4 assists all of last year.
The other key
factor of the day was face offs. It did not play a major role early as
there were not many goals early. However, as we started to score we were
able to make runs and maintain possessions, on our way to winning 18-22 face
offs. Pete Mellen did much of the damage facing
off, and he added a goal and an assist as well. Pete was one of the few
bright spots vs.
We do not
play during the week this week, we play at Wesleyan
Saturday, April 2 at 2:00. Wesleyan had been playing great, receiving
lots of press, but they were just upset by Bates 13-6 yesterday. Just
another example of why a team has to approach the season game by game, practice
by practice.