MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Goalie Diego Espino (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) made seven saves in the span of three quarters and scored twice, while the duo of Taylor Moore (Sr., Greenwich, Conn.) and Sam Von Lokeren (Fr., San Francisco, Calif.) both netting five goals as host Middlebury College of the New England Division downed Augustana College of the Heartland Division, 22-3, to make the 2017 Men’s Division III National Collegiate Club Championship Fifth Place game.
Courtesy the win, Middlbury advances to a Fifth Place showdown at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, October 29, against the victor of a consolation game pitting Hamilton College of the New York Division against the United States Coast Guard Academy of the Colonial Division. The contest guarantees the Panthers will earn a new position at the Division III Club Championship as Middlebury can place either Fifth or Sixth in the eight-team field.
In the history of the championship, the Panthers have finished high and low in the standings with previous trips to the tournament in 2003 (First at Bowdoin College), 2009 (Seventh at Bowdoin), 2011 (Seventh at Hamilton College), 2012 (Eighth at home), 2014 (Third at Bowdoin), 2015 (Second at Macalester College) and Seventh (2016 at Hamilton).
Middlebury punched its ticket to the Fifth Place contest by dominating the game against Augustana from the opening sprint to the final buzzer.
The Panthers jumped out to a 6-0 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter prior to Jerry Welu (Jr., Naperville, Ill.) floating in a chance with 1:10 left on the clock to shave the gap down to five.
Following a Middlebury strike 16 seconds into the second quarter, Augustana managed to trim its deficit down back to five at 7-2 with 4:44 remaining on the first half clock. However, the Panthers growled over the remaining four minutes of the half with back-to-back-to-back markers to collect a 10-2 lead by halftime.
Augustana was unable to trim its deficit below seven goals (10-3) the rest of the way as the Panthers pounced in the second half for scoring advantages of 5-1 and 7-0 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, for a 19-score margin of victory.
Aidan Strayer (Jr., Niskayuna, N.Y.) and David Cohen (So., Princeton, N.J.) chipped in four and three goals, respectively, with Espino notching a pair. Kevin Benscheidt (Sr., Fresno, Calif.), Greyson Zatzick (So., Seattle, Wash.) and Robert Bernhardt (Jr., Champaign, Ill.) each found the back of the cage once.
In cage, Strayer closed out the game for Espino with four saves over the span of the final seven minutes.
For Augustana, which will meet the loser of the Hamilton-vs.-Coast Guard game at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 29, for Seventh Place, received a pair of goals from Welu and a solo tally by Welu. Nate Kies (Sr., Plainfield, Ill.) stopped seven shots in taking the loss between the pipes.
The Vikings can improve upon or equal its only previous performance at the Men’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship as Augustana tied with host Bowdoin for Eighth Place at the 2014 Division III Championship in Brunswick, Maine. A snowstorm knocked out power at the pool preventing the tournament from being completed and tying the two teams in the final standings.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Augustana College | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 3 |
| Middlebury College | 6 | 4 | 5 | 7 | – | 22 |
| Middlebury Goals: | Taylor Moore (5); Sam Van Lokeren (5); Aidan Strayer (4); David Cohen (3); Diego Espino (2); Kevin Benscheidt; Greyson Zatzick; Robert Bernhardt | |||||
| Augustana Goals: | Charlie Young (2); Jerry Welu | |||||
| Saves: | Middlebury – Diego Espino (7, 21 minutes), Aidan Strayer (2, 7 minutes) ; Augustana – Nate Kies (7) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Middlebury – 6 ; Augustana – 2 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Middlebury – 2-for-2 ; Augustana – 0-for-6 | |||||
| Sprints: | Middlebury – 3-for-4 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) ; Augustana – 1-for-4 (1st) | |||||
| Officials: | Brian Swider, Dennis Kinne | |||||
Photo 1: Middlebury College’s Sam Van Lokeren; Photo 2: Augustana College’s Chris O’Neill, Jr., shoots over Middlebury’s Nick Handali; Photo 3: Augustana College’s Mason Sargent looks for an opening as Middlebury College’s Aidan Strayer stalks for a steal
