The 11th-ranked Middlebury men's lacrosse team held a one-goal lead for much of the first half in Saturday's NCAA Quarterfinal contest against #14 Bowdoin, but the Polar Bears tallied six-unanswered goals in the final frame to post a 12-7 decision. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers scored the lone marker of the first quarter with 7:08 elapsed. Russell Thorndike drove from left to right, firing a shot past Bowdoin goalie Robert Hobbs just inside the left post for the 1-0 advantage.
• The best opportunity of the frame for the Polar Bears came with 3:08 left when Will Byrne fired a left-handed shot from 15 yards out, but Middlebury netminder Hayden Kern denied the chance on a nice stick save.
• Will Zink made it a 2-0 contest 34 seconds into the second stanza on a quick-stick attempt following a pass from William Ryan.
• Bowdoin cut the deficit to one (2-1) when Sam Raye-Steiner worked his way from behind the goal, muscling into the right slot before burying a bouncer just past a sprawling Kern nearly three minutes later.
• The Polar Bears capitalized on a player-up situation, tying the game at 2-2 with 9:04 left when Oliver Bernstein rifled his shot inside the left post.
• The Panthers answered 21 seconds later as Patrick Jamin dodged through traffic from near midfield, before ripping a bid into the upper-left corner for a 3-2 edge.
• On the ensuing possession for Bowdoin, Byrne knotted the contest with an underhanded shot that snuck past Kern.
• Thorndike tallied again near the midway point of the frame, lacing a shot into the left side of the goal for a 4-3 advantage with 7:27 remaining.
• The Polar Bears leveled the game at 4-4 following a scramble in the Panther crease, as Jason Lach scooped up a groundball and scored.
• Jamin gave Middlebury a 5-4 edge with his second tally of the day. He worked his way from below the goalline before firing a turnaround shot into the bottom of the net with 2:30 showing on the second-quarter clock.
• Bowdoin knotted the game on a give-and-go when Matt Ward scored with 11:51 remaining in the third quarter to make it 5-5.
• The Polar Bears gained their first lead (6-5) of the contest at the 6:39 mark when Liam Tasker scored with a quick stick in front on a pass by Huck Trafton.
• Thorndike completed his hat trick just over a minute into the fourth frame, securing a pass from Jamin on the break, before ripping a bid just under the crossbar to level the game at six tallies apiece.
• Lach provided a much-needed spark for Bowdoin, tallying three-straight goals to help the Polar Bears pull away. Raye-Steiner, Casey Ryan and Lach continued the run with one goal each, giving Bowdoin a commanding 12-6 advantage with 1:30 left.
• Following a failed clear, Billy Curtis bounced a shot into the net with 60 seconds remaining for the final 12-7 score.

NOTES

• William Munroe scooped up six groundballs, moving him into a tie for fifth place in the program's single-season record book.
• Teddy Curran caused three turnovers to give him 32 this season, which ranks third in the Middlebury single-season laurels.
• Kern finished with 14 stops on the day, marking the 25th time in his career that he has posted a double-digit save total. He also slid up into third place in the single-season records with 242 denied shots.
• Middlebury made its 19th appearance in the national tournament after earning an at-large berth and advanced to the quarterfinal round for the 14th time overall and the second-straight season.
• Middlebury owns a 36-20 mark in the all-time series against Bowdoin with the programs playing for the third time this season.
• The Panthers and Polar Bears only played once in the NCAA Tournament entering today's matchup, which was a 10-7 triumph by Middlebury in the 2008 first round.
• The first-quarter shutout by the Middlebury defense was the only time this season that Bowdoin was held scoreless in the opening 15 minutes.

Middlebury concludes its season at 12-9 overall, advancing to the NESCAC Championship and the NCAA Quarterfinals.