Box Score Middlebury, ranked 24th nationally, got a pair of second-half goals from Jamie Soroka en route to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory Wednesday over Keene State on Dragone Field. The Panthers (2-1) outshot the Owls by a 23-6 count for the afternoon. Middlebury takes to the road for the first time in 2014 with an 11:00 a.m. Saturday NESCAC matchup at Connecticut College, while Keene State hosts Colby-Sawyer the same day.
Middlebury controlled play and possession for much of the first half. On a direct kick, the hosts nearly got on the board in the 22nd minute. Following a foul, Soroka laced a direct kick from 25 yards away that Keene State goalie Victoria Crenson made a leaping save directly over her head, as the ball hit the crossbar and bounced away.
In the 42nd minute with the match still scoreless, the Owls jumped on an errant Middlebury touch in the defensive end. Rebecca Costello secured the loose ball on the right side and sent a through ball to Shannon Summers who laced a shot into the top left corner for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained a 1-0 Keene State advantage headed into the halftime break. After the intermission, Middlebury knotted the match early in the second stanza. With the ball bouncing around in the 48th minute near the midfield stripe, Middlebury's Day Robins corralled it and sent Soroka a nifty pass up the left flank. Soroka worked her way into the middle of the pitch and drilled into the upper left corner, tying the match at 1-1.
Nearing the midway point of the second stanza, Middlebury nearly grabbed the lead when Krystina Reynolds struck a hard, low shot from 12 yards out as Crenson made a diving stop to her left.
With the score deadlocked at 1-1 in the 84th minute, Soroka was the recipient of a pass down the sideline from Katherine Hobbs. She worked her way around a defender toward the middle and laced a shot from just inside the penalty box to the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
Kate Reinmuth finished with two saves in goal for the Panthers, while Crenson collected eight stops for the Owls.
