MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Three-time defending National Champion Washington University in St. Louis received scoring from seven different players as the Bears of the Missouri Valley Division built leads of 7-1 and 13-2 by the conclusion of the first and second quarters in rolling to a 27-4 defeat of host Middlebury College in the opening round the 2017 Men’s Division III Collegiate Club Championship.
Thomas Fies (Fr., Evanston, Ill.) earned Player of the Game accolades for pumping in a game-high seven tallies, while David Ling (Fr., Steilacoom, Wash.) and Flynn Walker (Sr., Princeton, N.J.) pumped in five goals. John Hooker (So., Calabasas, Calif.), Max Bernstein (Jr., St. Louis, Mo.) and Levi Kohl (Fr., Los Angeles, Calif.) notched four, three and two goals with Alex Goay (Sr., Baton Rouge, La.) tacking on a solo strike.
Washington never trailed as Walker ripped off back-to-back-to-back markers with 4:44, 3:28 and 2:55 to push the Bears out to a 3-0 lead. The margin expanded to 7-1 prior to the conclusion of the first quarter as Washington continued to pull away.
Following a 6-1 outburst in the second quarter to snag a 13-2 lead by halftime, Washington sealed the deal in the second half by outscoring the Panthers 6-2 in the third quarter and 8-0 over the final seven minutes to collect a 23 goal margin of victory.
For Middlebury, Kevin Benschedit (Sr., Fresno Calif.) scored twice with Robert Bernhardt (Jr., Champaign, Ill.) and Taylor Moore (Sr., Greenwich, Conn.) each ripping in single tallies.
A key to the game was Washington’s ability to convert on man-up chances as the Bears drilled home nine-of-11 power-play bids, while holding the Panthers to a three-for-13 performance.
In cage, Michael Lorberg (So., St. Louis, Mo.) earned the victory for Washington with four saves in the first half prior to Brian Xu (Fr., Irvine, Calif.) posting five stops in the second half. Middlebury’s Diego Espino (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) stopped 10 shots in taking the loss.
The win advances Washington into the tournament semifinals at 5:50 p.m. this evening against the victor of a first round game pitting Bates College of the North Atlantic Division against Augustana College of the Heartland Division. Middlebury will return to the water at 5:50 against the fallen from the Bates-vs.-Augustana contest with a berth in the Fifth Place game on the line.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| Washington University in St. Louis | 7 | 6 | 6 | 8 | – | 27 |
| Middlebury College | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 4 |
| Middlebury Goals: | Kevin Benscheidt (2); Robert Bernhardt; Taylor Moore | |||||
| Washington Goals: | Thomas Fies (7); David Ling (5); Flynn Walker (5); John Hooker (4); Max Bernstein (3); Levi Kohl (2); Alex Goay | |||||
| Saves: | Middlebury – Diego Espino (10) ; Washington – Michael Lorberg (4, 14 minutes); Brian Xu (5, 14 minutes) | |||||
| Exclusions: | Middlebury – 11 ; Washington – 13 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | Middlebury – 3-for-13 ; Washington – 9-for-11 | |||||
| Sprints: | Middlebury – 1-for-4 (1st) ; Washington – 3-for-4 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) | |||||
| Officials: | Dennis Kinne, Steve Sargalski | |||||
Photo 1: Washington University in St. Louis’ Carter Umetsu shoots on Middlebury College goalie Diego Espino; Photo 2: Washington University in St. Louis’ Will Nickerson looks to shoot; Photo 3: Middlebury College’s Kevin Benscheidt
