By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The fourth-ranked Middlebury College men's soccer team used a pair of second-half goals to get past Bridgewater State University on Tuesday afternoon.
The Panthers improved to 8-0-2 with a 2-0 victory over the Bears at Mazzaferro Field in the first meeting between the two programs.
Middlebury, a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, had moved up from No. 5 to No. 4 in this week's national Division 3 poll earlier in the day.
The Panthers advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament a year ago, winning three games before losing to Amherst, 1-0.
BSU (5-4-2) and the Panthers were in a scoreless tie until more than 10 minutes elapsed in the second half.
The Bears, who had a three-game winning streak halted, were unable to generate offense against a stingy Middlebury defense. The Panthers have allowed just five goals in 10 games.
Junior goalkeeper Joey Waterman (North Andover, Mass.) recorded his fifth shutout of the season, making four second-half saves.
The Panthers made it 1-0 at 56:08 when junior Gavin Randolph (Boston, Mass.) scored with assists to freshman Keagan Harder (Arlington, Mass.) and Kyle Nilsson (San Francisco, Calif.).
Harder sent a cross into the 18 and Randolph scored his fifth goal of the season with a shot that tucked under the crossbar from about 10 yards out.
The lead went to 2-0 at 73:13 when sophomore Colin Dugan (Avon, Conn.) recorded his fourth goal of the season.
Junior Daniel Kaye (Santiago, Chile) drew a penalty as he was taken down in the box. The penalty kick was converted by Dugan with a shot inside the left post.
BSU did not manage a shot on goal until sophomore Nicholas Ribeiro (Bellingham, Mass.) had one that was stopped by Waterman at 66:40.
The long shot came on a free kick near the 40 that was caught by Waterman.
That was followed by saves against Ribeiro, senior Carsten Boloz (Southborough, Mass.) and junior Melvin Alves (Brockton, Mass.).
BSU's best scoring chance was late in the second half on a shot from 30 yards out by Ribeiro, but it was knocked over the crossbar by Waterman.
BSU sophomore goalkeeper Matheus Rodrigues (Edgartown, Mass.), making his third start of the season, fell to 1-1-1. Rodrigues made two stops against the Panthers.
Middlebury had a 15-9 edge in overall shots and a 5-3 corner kicks advantage.
The Bears return to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday at noon, hosting Salem State University.
Middlebury will be home on Saturday for a noon game against Colby. The Panthers are 4-0-2 in the NESCAC, trailing Tufts and Williams.