NESCAC Tournament First Round
Middlebury 2, Bates 0
at Middlebury, Vt.

Bates (6-6-3)        0   0   0   
Middlebury (8-5-2)   1   1   2

Scoring
MID,  5:48, Jason Griffiths (Kyle Dezotell).
MID, 62:13, Nathaniel Shoaff (David Seeley).

Goalies
BAT, Dan Spector, 90 Min, 6 SV, 2 GA. 
MID, Brian Hamm, 90 Min, 5 SV, 0 GA.

MIDDLEBURY ELIMINATES BOBCATS FROM NESCAC TOURNEY, 2-0

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- The host Middlebury College Panthers (8-5-2) defeated the visiting Bates College Bobcats (6-6-3) today, 2-0, in the first round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) men's soccer championship tournament. The Panthers, seeded second in the tournament, will play No. 3 Tufts in the semifinals at Williams next weekend.

Middlebury and Bates tied, 1-1, in the regular season meeting between the two teams. In that game, Bates got on the scoreboard early to put pressure on their opponents. Today, it was Middlebury scoring in the sixth minute when sophomore Jason Griffiths headed in a corner kick from junior Kyle Dezotell. Midway through the second half, the Panthers added an insurance goal from senior Nathaniel Shoaff, who fired the ball into the upper right corner of the goal from the 18.

Bates increased its offense in the final three minutes of regulation, firing nearly half of their 12 shots on Middlebury keeper Brian Hamm in that period, but the Bobcats were unable to break through. Bates senior goalkeeper Dan Spector (Framingham, Mass.) made six saves in his final collegiate contest, while Hamm had five stops for Middlebury.