The #15 Middlebury men's lacrosse team grabbed a 7-5 lead with 10:50 left against Williams on Wednesday, but the Ephs tallied the final three goals, including the game winner with 5.6 seconds left, to secure an 8-7 decision.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Williams looked to get on the board 1:28 into the low-scoring first quarter. Jack Sartorius collected a bouncing ball from 10 yards and laced a worm burner that goalie Hayden Kern saved with his stick.
• The Ephs had another chance less than two minutes later when Davis Miller twirled a bid at the top of the crease. Kern rose and denied the opportunity.
• Joe Ladocsi had a great opportunity with 4:20 showing on the clock, but the Panther goalie stonewalled the step-down look. 
• The Panthers tallied the lone score of the stanza with 7.4 ticks left. John McCarthy laced a 12-yard chance into the left panel for a 1-0 edge.
• Middlebury tried to add to its lead at the 1:50 mark of the second stanza. Ged Gengras worked his way from behind the net and ripped a wraparound look that Williams goalie Charlie Medd stopped.
• With 8:56 before the half, Brendan Hickey sent a spinning left-handed attempt that Medd corralled to keep it a one-goal edge.
• Williams knotted the contest two minutes later. Sartorius stepped down into his shot, finding space in the left panel for a 1-1 tally.
• The Panthers posted three of the next four goals over the final 5:15 of the frame. Misha Trupo kickstarted the spurt with a tough-angled finish, while Nicky Cairo (1:37) tucked a bid under the bar and Will Ford roped a left-handed chance inside the post for a 4-2 lead with one minute remaining.
• The Ephs worked the ball up the field in transition before Will Doran muscled his way and clanged a shot off the left post into the net with 0.4 seconds left for a 4-3 halftime tally.
• The visitors deadlocked the game at 4-4 seven seconds past the midway point of the third frame when Doran wrapped around and sent an underhanded shot that deposited into the right panel.
• Middlebury posted the next two goals as Ford wiggled into the middle and tucked his shot under the crossbar at 4:13, while Trupo ripped a step down into the top-left corner 1:20 later to build a 6-4 advantage.
• Drew Nicholson pulled the Ephs within one (6-5) with 1:49 gone in the fourth, sniping a shot in transition.
• Ford regained the two-goal advantage with 10:50 left in regulation, bouncing a chance that snuck past Medd to make it 7-5.
• Doran answered 55 seconds later, lacing a quick-stick look past Kern on a nifty pass from Ralph Vogel.
• The Panther netminder kept Williams at bay over the ensuing three minutes, denying a chance from Doran with his helmet at 6:10.
• The Ephs leveled the game with 1:18 left. Doran skipped a shot that snuck through Kern's legs to make the score 7-7.
• Williams won the ensuing faceoff and held for the last shot, as Ryan Johnson dodged into the right channel and ripped a bounding ball that found space in the left panel with 5.6 seconds remaining. 
• Middlebury secured the faceoff and Ryan McGloin to fire a shot from 25 yards that Medd saved to preserve the 8-7 decision.

NOTES

• Drew Dummer had six caused turnovers during the contest, tying the Panther single-game program record.
• Kern tied his season-high output with 17 saves, including six stops in the first quarter.
• Noah Filippelli won 12-of-16 faceoffs at the dot, surpassing the 200 mark for his career with 208.
• The programs squared off for the 77th matchup, with the Panthers owning a 47-30 advantage in the all-time series.

Middlebury awaits its fate in the NESCAC Tournament when the seedings are announced on Wednesday evening following the conclusion of the final contest.