The Middlebury men's lacrosse utilized a strong second quarter and held off a second-half comeback attempt for a 10-8 road victory at Springfield's Stagg Field on Wednesday. The 10th-ranked Panthers (8-4) have won four-straight contests and look to keep their winning ways going with a 2:00 p.m. NESCAC game on Saturday at Trinity.

The Pride wasted little time netting the first goal of the game, as Brendan Dooley hit Tom Hurley for a quick-stick goal along the crease 39 seconds into the contest for a 1-0 lead.

The Panthers answered back with an unassisted goal from Sean Carroll at the 5:48 mark, spinning free from his defender and bouncing home a shot. Middlebury added to its lead 1:06 later on an unassisted goal by Tim Giarrusso. 

Springfield evened the game 2:35 into the second quarter when Tim Cozens delivered an inside feed to Kevin Dean all alone on the doorstep. The remainder of the half saw the Panthers reel off six-straight goals, including three man-up markers, to enter halftime with an 8-2 cushion. Jack Gould and Cedric Rhodes found the back of the cage twice in the surge, as both of Gould's scores were on the man-up opportunities.

Out of the halftime break, Dylan Sheehan netted the first goal of the second half when he weaved through several Panthers defenders before finding the top shelf at the 11:02 mark. After Middlebury answered with a John Simms' goal 45 seconds later to regain its six-goal cushion, the Pride put together a 4-1 surge to close out the third quarter. 

Springfield's burst started with a Dean bounce shot at 7:28 before Sheehan ripped an unassisted goal 39 seconds later. Jack Rautiola quieted the burst when he finished a Jon Broome feed with 5:23 on the clock for Middlebury, only to have Dom Abate and Sheehan deliver goals in the final 4:08 to make it a 10-7 game heading into the final quarter. 

In the low-scoring fourth quarter, Sheehan fired a cross-crease pass to Ty Daugstrup for the Pride, who picked the pass off the turf and slotted home a goal to make it a two-goal contest with 4:34 left in regulation. The hosts were unable to get any closer, as the Panthers held on for the 10-8 win.

For the visitors, Broome handed out a game-high four assists to run his point streak to 11-straight games, while Rautiola notched two goals and an assist. John Jackson dominated the face-off "X", going 16-20 with a game-best 11 ground balls.

Sheehan led the Springfield offense with three goals and an assist, while Dean scored twice. Jake Reynolds was strong between the pipes, notching a career-best 16 saves.

Middlebury owned a 52-21 advantage in shots, including a 30-4 edge in the first half. The visitors benefited from seven Springfield penalties, netting three man-up goals.