Middlebury built an early 6-0 lead in the first quarter and cruised past visiting Colby this afternoon at Kohn Field 14-4 in the season-opener for both schools. The Panthers return to action next Saturday to face Stevens Institute in a non-league game at Kohn Field.

Jim Cabrera, notching his first of his game-high five goals for the Panthers, opened the scoring at the 14:13 mark of the first quarter with an unassisted goal. Middlebury built on that lead as J.P. Coviello netted three more in the quarter during the 6-0 run. The lead grew to seven when Colby got on the board in the second when Dan Schupack netted a man-up score at 10:11 to cut the lead to 7-1. The Panthers went back on the attack and scored the final three goals of the half to build a 10-1 advantage.

Cabrera struck twice in the third, scoring consecutive goals to build a 13-3 lead, thwarting any Colby comeback. The fourth quarter saw both teams exchange goals to reach the final score 14-4.

Cabrera led all scorers with five goals while Coviello added four and had two assists for the Panthers. Four different players scored solo goals for Colby.

SCORE BY PERIOD 1 2 3 4 Tot
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Colby.................. 0 1 2 1 - 4
Middlebury........... 6 4 3 1 - 14

Colby SCORING: GOALS: Todd Boertzel 1; Dan Schupack 1; Drew Piekarski 1; Caddy Brooks 1. ASSISTS: Dana McNally 1.

Middlebury SCORING: GOALS: Jim Cabrera 5; J.P. Coviello 4; Jonathan Sisto 2; Aaron Herter 1; Glenn Bickley 1; Frank Granara 1. ASSISTS: Nick Bastis 2; J.P. Coviello 2; Chip Campbell 1; Aaron Herter 1; Travis Meyer 1.

SHOTS - COLBY 27; MID 45.
PENALTIES - COLBY 4/3:30; MID 3/2:30.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - COLBY 2-3; MID 0-4.
FACEOFFS - COLBY 5-18; MID 13-18.
CLEARS - COLBY 26-37; MID 28-34.

GOALIES - COLBY: Jeff Miller (60:00 minutes, 26 shots-12 saves, 14 GA); MID: Pete Britt (02:29, 0-0, 0) , Kevin Croken (02:12, 2-1, 1) , Alex Palmisano (55:19, 15-12, 3).