Four different Middlebury men's soccer players recorded goals, as the Panthers earned a 4-2 NESCAC victory on a rain-soaked Tuesday afternoon over visiting Hamilton. Middlebury (5-1-1, 2-1-1) returns to action Saturday morning when it hosts Colby at 11:00 a.m., while the Continentals (3-4, 1-3) host Wesleyan on the same day at 1:30 p.m.

The visitors got on the scoreboard first with 12:34 elapsed in the contest. Zack Becker drove down the left side of the pitch and sent a crossing ball that was bending toward the far post. The curling ball connected with Mike Lubelczyk, who headed it into the back of the net for the early lead.

The match remained a one-goal advantage for the Continentals, but the momentum slowly shifted in favor of Middlebury. Looking to push the ball forward, the Panthers evened the match at 1-1 in the 29th minute. Kirk Horton sent a cross from the left that was volleyed out of the air by Adam Glaser from six yards into the net for his team-leading fifth goal of the season.

Hamilton nearly took the lead in the 30th minute when a header by Miles Pindus from three yards away on an open goal just missed the crossbar and went high.

Regaining the momentum after the near goal while not allowing the ball to cross into Hamilton's half, the hosts gained the lead for good in the match at 42:19. Glaser lofted a ball into the middle of the pitch while Tom Bean raced inside the penalty area and back-heeled the ball out of the air and into the net as the Panthers took a one-goal advantage into the halftime break.  

Out of the intermission, Middlebury rode the momentum garnered at the end of the opening half and grabbed a two-goal lead at 52:32. Daniel O'Grady dribbled the ball into the penalty area from the left, sending a nifty low cross to the feet of Greg Conrad. He worked his way past his defender on the right side and tapped in the slick ball from six yards out.

The hosts gained a 4-1 lead following a Hamilton foul inside the penalty area. Middlebury's Deklan Robinson calmly laced the penalty kick into the bottom left corner of the goal past the valiant effort by Hamilton starting goalkeeper Harris Pollack.

Looking for a late surge, Hamilton pulled to within two (4-2) at the 78:35 mark. A knuckling shot by Alec Talsania from 18 yards away slipped through the wet gloves of Middlebury goalie Greg Sydor and just creeped over the goal line for the final 4-2 decision.

Middlebury held advantages in both shots (19-6) and corner kicks (4-3). Sydor played all 90 minutes and tallied a pair of saves for the Panthers, while Pollack was credited with five saves in 66:50. Peter Calleri logged the final 23:10 with a pair of stops.

WCAX HIGHLIGHTS