Saturday's national championship game in Div. III men's soccer, played between Middlebury and Trinity (Tex.), promised to be a thrilling clash of two national powers.
It was a matchup between the NESCAC-champion Panthers' stingy defense, which had limited opponents to 0.39 goals per game in 2007, and the nationally ranked No. 1 Tigers' high-octane offense, which paced the nation with 4.05 goals per game.
Trinity tried to cap a perfect season with its second-ever Div. III championship, while Middlebury attempted to topple a top-10 team for the third straight game and secure the program's first national title.
Not only did the teams live up to the billing, but they also provided arguably the most exciting championship game in nearly a decade.
In the first overtime title game since 1998, Middlebury claimed the 2007 national championship, taking the game 4-3 in penalty kicks and capping the best season in program history.
The teams dueled to a scoreless deadlock through 120 minutes of soccer, sending the game to a shootout. Tied at three apiece after four shooters, the Tigers' final shooter hit the crossbar, setting up Panthers senior midfielder Brandon Jackson for a potential game-winning kick. Jackson connected, earning the New England region its first national championship since Williams in 1995.
"It feels surreal," Middlebury coach David Saward said. "To have that feeling that you're one of a group of coaches that are fortunate enough to win a national championship - that has not sunk in yet."
The Panthers became one of just 18 teams to win the 33 crowns since the tournament began in 1974.
"There are a lot of great coaches out there who will never win a national championship," he said. "Not because they're bad coaches; it's just that the luck is not with them. And I don't know why this happened to be my year, but it is. It's a great feeling, and I'm honored."
While Middlebury was one of the NESCAC's top offensive teams, boasting the conference's leading scorer in senior forward Casey Ftorek, the backbone of its title-winning team was its impenetrable defense, which recorded 17 shutouts this season. The Panthers posted the fourth best goals-against average in all of Div. III and did not allow a single goal in the NCAA Tournament, as junior goalkeeper Brian Bush held opponents scoreless over the team's last 623 minutes of action.
Bush particularly rose to the occasion in three postseason games decided on penalty kicks. In the NESCAC semifinals against Williams, the first-year starter did not allow a goal in the shootout session, and against nationally-ranked No. 3 Loras in the NCAA Final Four, he allowed just one. After preserving another shootout win Saturday, Bush took home Tournament MVP honors.
"Personally, I think Bush is the best penalty-kick stopper I've ever seen in my life," Middlebury junior defenseman Corey Moffat said. "He has amazing reflexes. We had confidence going into every single penalty kick that he was going to block it and that our guys were going to bury theirs."
Middlebury's three NCAA Tournament wins over York, Loras and Trinity, the top-ranked teams in the South, West and Central, respectively, were further proof that New England teams can compete with the best of teams across Div. III.
And with three bids this season following four in 2006, the NESCAC proved once again that it is the best conference in New England, and one of the most competitive in the nation.
Middlebury's win was the second national soccer championship by a NESCAC school since the conference lifted its ban on NCAA Tournament play in 1993.
"New England soccer is great," Moffat said. "The NESCAC is definitely one of the top leagues in the country, and anyone coming out of the NESCAC has a great chance to do well in NCAAs. I think it's a deep conference, and I think every single team can play. That really prepares teams well for the postseason because they learn from the regular season on not to take any of their games lightly."
At a school known most for its hockey - ice and field - and lacrosse programs, the men's soccer team has flown slightly under the radar at Middlebury, despite all its success. The program had produced 30 All-Americans and 95 All-New England players heading into the 2007 season and just recently made its eighth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Now, with a national title banner of its own, the program earns some long-deserved praise.
"I've done the same job for 23 years, and to have this now, on one level it's a validation of what you strive to do," Saward said. "You strive to build a team and get the most out of players and have a great memory of what collegiate sports are all about, and we sure did that this year."
