Written by: John McClatt | November 4, 2021 | Athletic

Middlebury-The rubber match between Middlebury and Abraham Mountain Men’s Football Team took place in the first round of the second league on October 28. The host No. 5 Tigers kicked off in the second half and won the second half. 12th place victory-Seed Eagles, 3-1.

During the regular season, both teams won 1-0 on each other's turf.

After that setback, the Eagles fell 5-9-1 and the Tigers won the quarter-finals on Saturday and then lost to Milton in a fierce semifinal on Tuesday. They ended with 10-6-1.

Compared with the Eagles, Tigers forward Ronan Silberman equalized 1-1 at 20:36 in the second half. Silberman defeated Eagles goalkeeper Creed Stillwell, Oliver Anderson's long serve passed to the goalkeeper, and then shot a 15-yard shot from the right side of the penalty area into the empty net.

Forward Zack Wilkerson shot a 35-yard shot from the center of the court to the goalkeeper at 7:50 to win the victory.

Tigers midfielder Greg William successfully skidded dangerous Eagles forward Jack Lucarelli in the Tigers’ difficult first-round second division playoff victory on Thursday. Independent Photo/Steve James

Both teams have a chance, and Abeyama can be said to have played a period of time in the first 20 minutes. Although the Tigers have possession of the ball, the Eagles lead 10-4 in shooting, including a field goal by striker Eli Burgess.

But everyone else was off target, partly because of the outstanding performance of Tigers guards Eddie Holder and Tobias Parkman Wells in the center and Trebosworth and Henry Henstover on the wing. Despite 10 shots in the first half, Tigers goalkeeper Luke Black-who was in the game due to an injury to starter Owen Lawton-made only one save in the first half; he completed two.

The Eagles first-year coach McRelish is not satisfied with the team’s performance, especially the ball movement, but thinks the Tigers are done.

"They seized some opportunities," McRelish said. "In general, I think we played a good game of possession when we were in possession. They pushed the ball forward and scored."

He agreed that if the Eagles could take the lead with more goals in the first half, things might be different, but McRelish looks at it philosophically.

"This is the game. It moves back and forth, sometimes it does your way, sometimes it doesn't," he said.

Instead, the Tigers gradually established themselves-their last six shots in the first half-and led Henry Carpenter's goal by 15 points and 49 points in the first half. Carpenter defeated a defender on the left and scored on Stillwell. Stillwell came out to meet him and tried to kick the ball away. But Carpenter is overwhelming and preventing clearance attempts from returning to the net.

The Eagles defense led by Henry Cogswell and Chance Denecker limited the chances of the other Tigers, and the team entered the break 1-0.

In the second half, Abeyama equalized in the 4th minute. When a ball entered the penalty area, Blake came out and demanded it, and a defender tried to play the ball safely and clear it. But the ball passed directly to the Eagles midfielder Judah Jackson, who was about 20 yards from the right post, and he hit the ball into the empty net at once.

TIGER STRIKER RONEN Silberman touched the ball past the charging Eagle goalkeeper Creed Stillwell. Two seconds later, he hit the ball into the empty net, winning the second half of the first round of the second round of the playoffs at MUHS on Thursday. Independent Photo/Steve James

But the Tigers had a better chance in the remaining time, beating the Eagles 10-7 in the second half, Silberman and Wilkerson caused damage on the scoreboard.

Chris George, the Tigers' first-year coach, praised the Eagles.

"They made us very tough. Credit to them. They came out and made a plan," George said.

McRelish praised his team for showing steady progress, continuous hard work and positive attitude this season.

"I'm proud of these people, that's what I care about," he said. "They show up, they have energy, they have a good character."

George said his team proved that this can be dangerous on offense.

"We have a lot of quality in our box. If we put it there, we will score," he said.

He also praised the quality of his defender's game and his composure after mistakes, such as those that led to goals.

"What really matters is what you do after you make that mistake," he said. "They trusted each other and survived all this."

In the semifinals on Saturday, the Tigers defeated No. 13 Rice 3-2, who defeated No. 4 Stowe in the first round.

MUHS scored on Ollie Anderson's rebound. With 10 minutes left in the first half, Middlebury took a 2-0 lead in Carpenter's free kick.

Two minutes later, Rice pulled a goal back when Garrett Micchiche converted to Michael Pelletier's free kick. At 22 minutes and 30 seconds of the second half, Pelletier bent another free kick around the Tiger Wall. Green The Cavaliers evened the score.

However, the Tigers reacted quickly. About a minute and a half later, another Silberman won the game. He completed the Ben Seaton service.

Eliot Schneider scored and made 6 saves for the Tigers, and Nate DeGraff Murphy made 7 saves for Rice (5-11).

But the Tigers' season ended with a 2-0 loss to undefeated Milton on Tuesday. The Tigers have lost to Milton by two goals three times this season and are the only team to play against the Yellow Jackets 17-0.

Carden Button scored in the first half and set up Riley Zeno's goal for Milton. Milton goalkeeper Braden Carragher made 6 saves.

Schneider stopped 10 shots for the Tigers.

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