The 11th-ranked Middlebury men's lacrosse team took a four-goal lead early in the first quarter and never looked back, easing to a 15-9 victory over Trinity. With the win, the Panthers improve to 4-0, marking their best start to a season since 2013.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Bantams won the opening faceoff and raced down the field before Peter Cannon whipped a sidearm shot from 20 yards out that tucked inside the goal for the 1-0 edge.
- Middlebury responded with five-consecutive tallies to take a 5-1 advantage. Jack Sheehan started the run, powering through a pair of defenders and finding the left side of the goal. William Ryan tallied an extra-player goal at the 7:52 mark to make it 3-1, before Patrick Jamin capped the span with a spin-around tally.
- Trinity's Ryan Werner found nylon with 56 seconds remaining in the first quarter, cutting the deficit to three (5-2).
- Billy Curtis used a quick-stick goal at the 11:17 mark to increase the Panther lead. Less than a minute later, Gray Thomas came from behind the net and looped an over-the-shoulder blast inside the pipe for the 7-2 advantage.
- The teams traded the next four goals, before a goal by Jake Peluso with 1:06 remaining gave Middlebury a 10-4 lead at the break.
- Just 34 seconds into the second half, Tom Conley scored through the five hole to extend the advantage to 11-4.
- The Bantams mounted their comeback attempt in the third quarter, tallying four of the next five goals to cut the deficit to four (12-8). Andrew Bailey capped the scoring burst with an extra-player marker with 1:01 remaining.
- The Panthers doubled down in the final stanza, taking advantage of several Trinity penalties. Tyler Forbes, Curtis and Ryan each tallied extra-player markers to make it 15-8 with just under 10 minutes to go.
- Trinity's Werner closed out the scoring with 5:10 remaining with a player-up tally, bringing the final score to 15-9.
NOTES
- Hayden Kern made 15 saves to secure his fourth-straight triumph in goal.
- Curtis has tallied at least one point in all 20 career games, adding three goals in today's victory.
The Panthers travel to Texas this week to take on #6 Union in a battle between two undefeated programs. The teams will play at the University of Texas on Tuesday at 8:00 PM CT.