Box Score The 16th-ranked Middlebury men's lacrosse team erased a five-goal halftime deficit against 19th-ranked Wesleyan (8-2, 4-2) on Saturday, but the Cardinals hung on to edge the Panthers 12-11. Middlebury (5-5, 4-3) jumps out of conference play on Sunday for a 1:00 p.m. faceoff at Babson.
The hosts got on the scoreboard first with a bouncing shot from the right side by Spencer Robbins at the 8:31 mark. Sam Jean made it 2-0 with a left-handed high to low shot nearly three minutes later, before DJ Dixon tallied at 5:13 for the hosts. Robbins increased the advantage with a man-up score at 2:10 for a four-goal Wesleyan lead after one quarter.
The Panthers cut into the deficit with 41 seconds elapsed in the second quarter, as
Jack Sheehan ripped a left-handed shot from 12 yards out.
William Ryan tallied just over a minute later for the Panthers, scoring on the doorstep into the upper portion of the Cardinal net. Wesleyan's Tyler Campbell ended the Panther momentum, winning the ensuing faceoff and scoring past Middlebury goalie
Finn O'Connor for a 5-2 lead. Jake Sexton pushed the Cardinal advantage to 6-2 with a quick-stick score at 11:27, before Robbins recorded his third of the day at 10:01.
Patrick Jamin laced a shot into the net for Middlebury from 15 yards away with 5:29 left, before Dixon scored on a Wesleyan fastbreak chance at 4:15 with an underhanded shot for the 8-3 halftime advantage.
Following the break,
Russell Thorndike started a four-goal Panther run spanning the next 5:36 when he bounced in a shot from the left at 10:47 to cut the margin to 8-4.
Will Zink found the back of the Cardinal net 48 seconds later, while goals by
Luke Simpson and
Tom Conley pulled the visitors to within 8-7. Wesleyan answered with markers by Alex Moynihan and Sexton for a 10-7 advantage after three quarters.
Middlebury opened the fourth quarter with three-straight goals, as
Bobby Hendry,
Tyler Forbes and Thorndike each scored to knot the contest at 10-10 with 9:17 showing on the clock. Down 11-10 with two minutes left,
Billy Curtis picked off a pass on a Wesleyan clear attempt and raced toward the Cardinal goal. Curtis and Ryan worked a nifty give-and-go, as Curtis scored in the lower-left corner to deadlock the game at 11-11 with 1:45 left. The Cardinals won the subsequent faceoff and maintained possession. Following a timeout, Robbins rifled a rope into the net with 32.1 seconds left for a 12-11 Wesleyan edge. The Panthers claimed the next faceoff and called a timeout, but Sheehan's contested shot sailed high in the waning seconds for the 12-11 final score.
Thorndike scored twice to lead the Middlebury offense, while Ryan and Hendry each had a goal and three assists.
William Munroe won 11-13 faceoffs and picked up five groundballs, while Ryan also scooped up five rollers. Simpson posted a career-high six caused turnovers and had three groundballs to go along with his goal. O'Connor played the first half in the Panther goal and took the loss, while
Matt Dailey logged his first collegiate action in the second half with six saves.
Robbins paced all players with five goals for Wesleyan, while Sexton and Dixon both scored twice and assisted on another. CK Giancola tacked on three assists for the hosts. Charlie Hoban finished the game with six groundballs for Wesleyan. Colin Hanley earned the win in front of the net with 10 saves.
The Panthers held decisive advantages in both shots (56-30) and groundballs (45-26) for the contest.
