Middlesex traveled to Ashburnham on a sunny Wednesday afternoon for an early season Class B matchup with Cushing Academy.  The hosts were organized, athletic, and aggressive in the first half, as Vassilios Kakavitsas proved to be a handful for the Middlesex defense with his quick movement and elusive dribbling technique.  The first half was a scoreless deadlock and both teams regrouped from the heat and played with more energy in the second half.  After a number of close chances, and some fantastic saves from Cushing keeper Leo Goguen, co-captain Olly Mylon '25 opened the scoring in the 65th minute by beating two defenders on the byline and beating the keeper from a tight angle.  Mylon was fouled in the box seven minutes later and the resulting penalty kick was buried with pace and power by co-captain Bear Tibbitt '25.  The final tally came in transition thanks to a Baze Kalisa '26 tackle played forward to Hanad Garad '26.  Garad played in a streaking Adriano Valmora '28 who cut back on two sliding defenders and blazed the ball into the back of the net for his third goal of the young season.  Will McCarthy '28 and Quinn Falvey '26 were stalwarts in the back to prevent chances and preserve the second clean sheet for new keeper Noah Browne '27.  It was a highly competitive game that was played with spirit and good sportsmanship.