Women's Soccer Prepares For Final Four
Date Posted: 8/19/2014
December 4, 2013 - News Story from Middlebury Women's Soccer Archived News, please visit http://athletics.middlebury.edu/sports/wsoc/2013-14/releases/463496.html
The Middlebury College women’s soccer team will make its first appearance in the NCAA final four on Friday, December 6th in San Antonio, Texas. The Panthers will take on Trinity of Texas at 2:30 p.m. eastern time, while William Smith meets Capital in the first semifinal at noon. The winners meet on Toyota Field for the NCAA Championship game at 2:30 on Saturday.
Middlebury is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, entering the weekend with an overall record of 15-7 in NCAA Tournament play. The Panthers advanced to the quarterfinals in ’97, falling in the sectionals in ’04, ’06, ’09 and ’11.
Middlebury earned its way into the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid after winning its third NESCAC Championship on November 10th. Junior Carter Talgo scored the game’s only goal 38:41 into the contest as #13 Middlebury earned a 1-0 victory over #17 Williams in the title game.
In the NCAA Regionals, Middlebury had little trouble with Bridgewater State in their first-round match-up, coming away with a 5-0 win. The Panthers also controlled their game on Sunday, emerging with a 2-1 victory over Endicott for the regional title.
Middlebury hosted post-season play for the third straight weekend on November 23-24. The Panthers avenged an NCAA Tournament loss to Misericordia in ’12 with a 5-0 thumping of the Cougars. Senior Scarlett Kirk scored a hat-trick to lead her team to the victory. The following day, Kirk scored with just 17 seconds remaining as the Panthers topped #6 Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals.
Ten-year head coach Peter Kim recently earned NESCAC Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season. He was recognized for the fifth time in his 10 seasons at Middlebury (2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013), which is more than any other NESCAC women’s soccer coach. Kim owns a career record of 119-38-21.
Kirk is the team’s leading goal scorer entering the weekend. She is a three-time first-team All-NESCAC selection who leads the league with 16 goals and 36 points. She is second all-time at Middlebury with 47 goals, to go along with eight assists for 102 points in 72 games.
Senior Julia Favorito recently earned NESCAC Player of the Year honors as a forward/midfielder for the Panthers. The three-time All-NESCAC selection leads the league with nine assists. Her 23 career assists place her tied for second all-time at Middlebury, just one behind the all-time mark. Favorito is tied for fourth on the team with four goals, scoring twice in a September 21st win at Bowdoin. She has played in 71 games as a Panther, scoring eight goals with 23 assists for 39 points.
Sophomore Jamie Soroka is tied for second on the team with five goals, along with rookie Adrianna Gildner.
Sophomore Hannah Robinson has emerged as one of the top midfielders in the league in just her sophomore season, earning first-team All-NESCAC honors. She started all 21 games in ’13, earning two goals and six assists for 10 points. Joining her in the midfield are senior Sarah Noble (3-2-8) and juniors Ali Omsberg (0-2-2) and Talgo (3-2-8).
Defensively, senior Lindsay Kingston has anchored a defense that leads the league with a 0.47 goals against average this season with 11 shutouts. The first-team All-NESCAC selection has started all 19 games, serving as a team captain in ’13. Joining her in the back are juniors Molly Parizeau, Moria Sloan and Sophie Kligler.
In goal, Elizabeth Foody was a first-team All-NESCAC selection for the second consecutive season, earning first-team All-American honors a year ago. The senior has surrendered just nine goals this year and ranks among the conference leaders in save percentage (.852) and goals against average (0.52). She is 14-1-2 with six shutouts, owning a career mark of 29-3-5. Foody is the school’s all-time leader with a 0.45 goals against average, while ranking second with an .885 save percentage.