Box Score The Middlebury men's lacrosse team saw its season come to a close, as the Panthers (8-8) fell 17-9 at 14th-ranked Wesleyan (12-4) on Saturday in the NESCAC Quarterfinals.

The Cardinals opened the scoring in the first minute of the contest when Spencer Robbins wound up from the left wing and scored with 54 seconds expired. Middlebury countered just over five minutes later when Billy Curtis sent a pass from behind the net to Tyler Forbes, who got off a quick shot to knot the score at 1-1. The hosts tallied the next three goals to take a 4-1 edge after the opening 15 minutes of play.

The Panthers trimmed it to a two-goal difference (4-2) 1:18 into the second stanza, when Russell Thorndike collected a low pass from Jake Peluso, quickly turned and found the back of the net. After Wesleyan got the score back, Middlebury finished the half strong, netting two of the next three goals. Jack Sheehan whistled a shot over Cardinal goalie Colin Hanley's shoulder, while Forbes picked up his second of the game on a feed from Peluso to make it a 6-4 Wesleyan lead going into halftime.

The visitors had a great chance to cut the difference to one on the opening possession of the third frame when Thorndike had a shot from close range that Hanley denied. Minutes later, Hazard notched his 50th goal of the season to give the hosts a 7-4 edge with 10:34 on the clock. Matt Gill made it 8-4 three minutes later with Middlebury's Patrick Jamin creating shooting space and scoring to close the margin to three. The hosts extended the margin to 10-5, but Luke Simpson and Forbes each found the back of the net in the remaining minutes to cut the gap to three heading into the last period.

Middlebury hung tough as the teams traded goals in the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter with Gray Thomas tallying for the visitors on a low shot to make it an 11-8 game. Wesleyan pulled away in the final 7:06, scoring six times with Forbes accounting for the only tally for the Panthers for the 17-9 final.  

Forbes led the Panthers with four goals, while Simpson scored once and scooped up six rollers. William Munroe was a solid 17-27 on faceoffs with seven ground balls and Andrew Ng had three caused turnovers. Goalie Finn O'Connor posted nine saves for Middlebury.

Gill led all players with eight points (4G, 4A), while Hazard boasted seven points (5G, 2A). Kevin Talbot won 8-12 faceoffs with three ground balls, while Hanley was a difference for the Cardinals with 14 stops.