Tom Conley of the #17 Middlebury men's lacrosse team scored a player-down goal with just 36.9 seconds left on the clock, lifting the Panthers past 19th-ranked Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) 10-9. Middlebury trailed 5-0 in the first quarter, but slowly chipped away at the deficit to triumph in the 25th meeting between the two programs. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers looked to get on the scoreboard with a pair of quality chances in the opening minutes. Goalie Joseph Perry denied William Munroe's shot from the right side and Jack Sheehan's rebound bid ricocheted off the pipe.
• The Engineers opened the scoring at the 10:03 mark when Anthony Mazzella's low sidearm shot from 20 yards out tucked inside the left panel of the goal for the 1-0 edge. RPI rattled off four-consecutive goals, extending the advantage to 5-0 with 13:31 to go in the second stanza. 
• Middlebury got on the board with 9:16 left in the half when Jake Peluso powered through a trio of Engineer defenders and slipped the ball inside the right pipe to make it 5-1.
• Finn Muldoon and Russell Thorndike each rifled shots down the middle from 30 yards out, pulling the Panthers to within two (5-3). 
• With 1:05 to go, Patrick Jamin cut to his right and dished a pass to Thorndike on the left post, who slipped the ball past Perry to make it 5-4. 
• RPI looked to gain a bit of breathing room to end the half, with Cian Hilkewich finding the upper-right corner of the goal for an extra-player tally, but Middlebury wouldn't go away. Munroe won the ensuing faceoff and Thorndike completed his hat trick, pulling the Panthers back within one (6-5) at the break. 
• The teams traded goals to open the third session, with Ruffini scoring for RPI and Sheehan converting for Middlebury to keep the difference at one (7-6).
• With just under three minutes remaining in the stanza, the Engineers extended the lead to 8-6 with a tally by Murphy.
• The Engineers scored a goal with an extra player just 24 seconds into the final frame, but Middlebury responded with two-straight goals to cut the RPI lead back down to one (9-8). 
• The hosts had a pair of great chances with just under 10 minutes to go, but Middlebury goalie Hayden Kern came up with two big stops to keep the Panthers within striking distance. 
• With 2:13 remaining, Gray Thomas snuck the ball past Perry on a sharp-angled shot from the right side to knot the game 9-9.
• With 36.9 ticks left on the clock while a player down, Conley slung a shot over the shoulder that found nylon to secure the 10-9 victory.

NOTES

• Middlebury won both weekend games by scores of 10-9 to improve to 3-0.
• The Panthers handed the Engineers their first loss of the season on home turf. 
• Peluso's goal was his first of the season.