Mpiana’s Strike Hands #7 Middlebury Their First Loss – Connecticut College

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Gavin Mpiana (Cape Town, South Africa) scored with four and a half minutes remaining as the Connecticut College men’s soccer team handed #7 Middlebury their first loss of the season, with a 1-0 win from Freeman Field on Saturday.

Middlebury started the game on the front foot, recording the first four shots of the afternoon in the opening 15 minutes. The Camels defense blocked two of those efforts, while the other two were stopped by TJ Krongard (Montclair, N.J.).

Marco Perugini (Medway, Mass.) recorded Conn’s first shot of the day, before Krongard came up with another stop from Krongard. Shinya Frank (Menlo Park, Calif.) had an effort from the top of the box blocked, with Perugini putting the first effort on goal, as the game remained scoreless at the break.

The Panthers opened with two shots getting blocked by the Camels, before Conn took over. Henry Lester (South Harbor, Maine) had back-to-back chances blocked, before Samuel Brockelman (Topsfield, Mass.) missed just left. Matt Quiros-Newton (Alajuela, Costa Rica) forced a save from Brody Leon, before Elliot Spatz (Bellevue, Wash.) and Max Lee (London, England) were blocked.

The Camels upped the pressure over the final 20 minutes. Frank nearly opened the scoring with a beautiful strike to the top corner, but Brody tipped the shot onto the crossbar. With just under five minutes left, a loose ball bounced to Mpiana but again Brody came up with the save, giving Conn a corner.

On the ensuing corner, Perugini whipped the ball into the box finding the head of Mpiana. The first shot was stopped, but the rebound fell right back to Mpiana who poked it home to put the Camels in front. Conn closed out the final minutes to come away with the 1-0 win.

Conn outshot Middlebury 15-11, including 7-4 on shots on goal, and a 6-4 edge on corner kicks.

Krongard picked up the clean sheet victory between the sticks, finishing with four saves. Mpiana tallied the lone goal, while leading the way with three shots on target, while Frank and Quiros-Newton each added two.

Brody got the start in goal, making six saves. Offensively, four different Panthers recorded one shot on goal.

Conn (3-2-3, 1-2-2 NESCAC) returns to action on Tuesday as the Camels travel to Hartford to take on Trinity at 7:00 p.m.