The Middlebury men's lacrosse team coupled a strong defensive effort and a career-high six goals from Jack Sheehan for a 12-6 win over host Springfield on Tuesday at Stagg Field. The Panthers (4-3) return to NESCAC play on Saturday when they entertain third-ranked Tufts at 2:00 p.m.
 
Just over a minute into the first quarter, Sheehan ripped a shot from 15 yards out for a 1-0 Panther lead. The Pride (3-6) answered with a pair of goals less than two minutes later, as Riley Burgmyer and Steven Betsch scored just four seconds apart. Middlebury responded with three-straight goals spanning 1:58 of action. Sheehan scored with 5:59 left on a bouncing shot from the right side, while Billy Curtis made it a 3-2 score 50 seconds later. Bobby Hendry closed the run with his first career goal in a Panther uniform at the 4:01 mark for a 4-2 lead.
 
The score remained that way until 9:05 into the second quarter when Sheehan tallied his third goal of the contest when he found free space down the left alley. Springfield's Mason Nocito brought the Pride to within two (5-3) after gathering a loose ball in front of the Panther goal with 2:00 left. Middlebury regained its three-goal edge when Curtis found a cutting Tom Conley with 55 seconds remaining for a 6-3 halftime advantage.
 
On their initial possession of the third quarter, Connor Roberts brought the Pride to within 6-4 at the 14:34 mark. The Panthers rattled off the final four scores of the quarter, as Sheehan bookended the run when he ripped a left-handed shot from 20 yards out that found the top-right corner at 1:36 for a 10-4 edge.
 
Springfield opened the final quarter with goals from Nocito at 11:10 and Zac Schuette with 8:44 remaining, moving to within four (10-6). Sheehan recorded his career-best sixth goal inside five minutes and Curtis netted the game's final goal with 1:54 left for the 14-6 final. 
 
Sheehan paced the Panther offense with a career-high six goals on just nine shots to go along with an assist. Sheehan's six scores top his previous career best of five set against Bowdoin in the Panthers' season opener. Curtis tacked on a pair of goals and a helper. Curtis and Patrick Jamin tied for team-high honors with five groundballs, while Andrew Ng had two caused turnovers. Finn O'Connor (4-3) saved 16 of the 22 shots he faced to pick up the win in the Middlebury goal. 
 
Nocito finished with two goals and an assist for the Pride, while Betsch won 13-22 faceoffs and scooped up nine rollers. Dean Pesce had 20 saves for Springfield.
 
The Panthers were 23-24 on clear attempts in the contest, while limiting the Pride to 18-23 and forced Springfield into 16 turnovers, including eight in the final quarter.