The #14/sixth-seeded Middlebury men's soccer team heads to Tufts to square off with #1/top-seeded Jumbos in the NESCAC Semifinals on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The winner battles the victor of #11/second-seeded Wesleyan and #7/fifth-seeded Connecticut College in the championship on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
 
ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers advanced to the NESCAC Tournament's championship weekend with a 2-1 come-from-behind triumph over #10/third-seeded Bowdoin in the quarterfinals.
• Middlebury has made every conference tournament since the first one took place in 2000. Amherst and Williams are the other programs that share the distinction.
• The Panthers have earned 29 victories during NESCAC postseason action and advanced to the championship game 11 times.
• Middlebury is searching for back-to-back NESCAC Championship contest appearances for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 campaigns.
• The Panthers are seeking their fourth league title, garnering the crown in 2000, 2007 and 2010.
• Middlebury lands inside the conference's top-five places in numerous categories. The team has allowed just nine goals, good for the second-fewest in the league. They enter the postseason ranking second with 2.07 tallies per game. Middlebury is also third in shots per match (17.3) and third in shots on goal per contest (7.40).

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Will Sawin leads the Panthers with seven goals and 18 points, including the game-tying tally in the NESCAC Quarterfinal contest. He sits second in NESCAC in points and third in total tallies. Eduardo Casanova shares the conference lead with seven helpers, five of which have been distributed in the past six contests.
• Gavin Randolph has brought a late spark to Middlebury's offense. The Panther has nine points in his last six outings, including finding the back of the net twice in a 4-0 win over Colby.
• Middlebury boasts 16 different goal scorers, with many recent tallies being recorded by the midfield. Keagan Harder holds second on the squad with four goals alongside nine points in 15 contests.
• Pablo Gonzalez is the lone defender to log over 1,100 minutes this season, while rookies Orlando Cavaceppi-Dove (1,009) and Hamin Kim (974) have started all 15 contests on the backline.
• Joey Waterman has stood tall as Middlebury's primary goalkeeper. The senior is tied for the fewest goals of any NESCAC counterpart (seven) and owns a conference-best .870 save percentage.

ABOUT TUFTS

• Tufts is appearing in the NESCAC Semifinals for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
• The #1/top-seeded Jumbos got past eighth-seeded Bates with a penalty-kick goal by Daniel Yanez with 14:28 left in the second half for a 1-0 decision.
• Tufts is making its 23rd appearance in the tournament and its 15th straight. The program looks to advance to the title game for the second time in three years.
• The Jumbos are in search of their fourth conference title and first since 2021.
• Tufts owns a 12-1-3 mark heading into the weekend. Their lone setback came in a 3-1 loss to then-#10 Williams on September 6.   

JUMBOS TO WATCH

• Tufts is paced on the offensive side of the field by the trio of Xavier Canfin, Henry Brown and Henry Perkins. Canfin is third in the league with six assists, while his 12 points lead the Jumbos. Brown (5G, 1A) and Perkins (3G, 5A) have double-digit point totals.
• Yanez is second on the squad with four goals, each of them game-winning tallies. That metric is tied atop the ranks among his league peers.
• Defensive midfielder Bijan Akhtarzandi-Das has started in all 16 contests and recorded 1,364 minutes played. Mateo Bargagna has also logged a start in every match with 1,182 minutes alongside two goals and an assist.
• Starting between the pipes in each of the team's 16 games this fall has been Nikola Antic. He ranks first in the NESCAC with a 0.46 GAA and eight clean sheets.

ABOUT WESLEYAN

• The #11 Cardinals enter the weekend with a 9-3-4 record. All three of their losses have come by one goal, including a 1-0 defeat to then-#5 Babson by a 1-0 score on September 6.
• The red and white make their 22nd appearance in the NESCAC Tournament and advanced after a 3-2 win over seventh-seeded Amherst in the quarterfinals. Aiden Londergan scored with 15 seconds left in regulation to propel the red and white to the semifinals.
• Wesleyan has advanced to the championship game twice, including a 3-2 triumph against the Mammoths in the 2005 title tilt.
• Londergan is third in the league with 17 points and tied for third with seven goals. Yousuf Saeed (5G, 3A) and Joshwin Jennings (4G, 4A) are also contributors on the offensive end.
• Mathis Blanc has been the starter in goal this season for the Cardinals, posting an .824 save percentage with a quartet of shutouts over 15 starts. Blanc leads the conference with 61 saves and ranks second with 4.07 stops per game.

ABOUT CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

• The seventh-ranked Camels are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak heading into the semifinals, including a 2-1 triumph at fourth-seeded Williams in the quarterfinal round. 
• Connecticut College is seeking its second-consecutive NESCAC Championship in program history after a 3-1 victory last fall against Middlebury. 
• The Camels are appearing in their fourth-straight NESCAC Semifinal and seventh in school history. 
• Connecticut College is making its 17th tournament appearance.
• The Camels possess a 9-2-5 mark, with their losses coming to nationally-ranked conference foes in Amherst and Tufts. 
• Marco Perugini leads a balanced attack with 14 points (5G, 4A), while Gavin Mpiana (3G, 2A) and Matt Quiros-Newton (2G, 3A) aid the output.
• TJ Krongard is second in the conference with seven shutouts and third in GAA (0.67) in 15 starts in net for Connecticut College.  

SERIES HISTORY VS. MIDDLEBURY

• The Panthers and the Jumbos play for the 42nd time on Saturday, in a series where Middlebury holds a 19-14-8 advantage. The sides have squared off nine times in the NESCAC Tournament with the Panthers winning five meetings. The programs have met on three occasions in the semifinals. Tufts won 2-1 and 1-0 in 2023 and 2021, while Middlebury secured a 1-0 triumph in 2001.
• Should the Panthers and Cardinals meet, it will be the 48th all-time matchup. Middlebury has a 30-11-6 lead in the series. The sides have competed on six occasions in the NESCAC postseason, but not in the title tilt. The three most recent meetings have been decided in penalty kicks (2014, 2015, 2021). The Panthers have claimed the other three matchups in regulation.
• If Middlebury and Connecticut College battle, the meeting will be the 44th contest. The Panthers have secured 28 wins in the series. The programs have played four times in the NESCAC postseason, including three in the quarterfinals and last fall's championship game. 

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
 
The winner of the championship will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The full field for the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship will be released on Monday, November 10 at 11:30 a.m.