As the rain finally cleared for what turned out to be a beautiful fall afternoon, the annual Zebra derby was played in Concord between Middlesex and Groton. 

After showing some strong possession and controlling the play for the almost a half hour, Groton scored against the run of play from a set piece and went on to dominate the match the rest of the way.  After an unnecessary foul of a player dribbling towards the touchline and away from goal, Groton’s #3 swerved a right footed ball in from the left flank to elude junior keeper Michael O’Keeffe and find the far side net for the surprising 1-0 lead. 

After finishing the half and regrouping to hopefully assert themselves in the second half, Middlesex found themselves second best in all categories in the second stanza.  Groton punctuated the victory when Middlesex gifted them an own goal on a flicked header in the 88^th minute. 

The two players of note for Middlesex on the day were senior captain Philip Skayne who marshaled the backline and sophomore Brian Powers, who had his best performance of the year in the midfield by winning balls and connecting passes while playing at a high tempo. 

The team has the long weekend to recharge and will travel to Belmont Hill next Wednesday looking for redemption.