Men's Lacrosse Dismantles Union

Author: David Freedman

The Middlebury men's lacrosse team has had its schedule delayed three times in one week by the latest winter storm, playing only one game in 10 days on the original date in the original venue.
Playing in a constant and heavy rain reminiscent of the Gettysburg loss, the Panthers finally got to take the field at Union College on April 2. Despite the conditions, the Panther attack fired off 11 first-half goals, holding their opponents to just two of their own, en route to a methodical 22-5 victory.
Head Coach Erin Quinn was impressed with Union's ability to possess the ball early, but ultimately the team's "ability to get out on fast breaks and score quickly is what blew the game open."
Captain Brian McGregor's '03 play on face-offs epitomized Middlebury's efforts on the day. Winning nearly all of his opportunities, McGregor, along with his wingmen David Leach '05 and Greg Bastis '04 gave the Panthers possession after possession. Leach and Bastis converted many of these chances into immediate goals. Leach finished the game with two goals and two assists while Bastis added three goals and one assist as well.
Mike Saraceni '04 and Charley Howe '04 have been putting up outstanding numbers all year, leading the Panther attack in points, and both juniors added three goals apiece on the day. Midway through the regular season Saraceni and Howe have been the most consistent contributors to the offense.
Howe, whom Quinn regards as more of an outside threat while Saraceni works the middle, attributes his scoring chances to the team coming together as a unit while "people become more comfortable and confident in their roles. The offensive production has been very equally spread out with a large majority of the creation coming from our athletes in the midfield." Pointing to middies like Captain Mike Frissora '03, Jamie Duke '05, Leach, and Bastis for their ability to breakdown Middlebury's opponents in transition, Howe credited his teammates for creating openings for the attack to take advantage of.
Saraceni elaborated on Howe's assessment of the team's success saying, "The key to our offense is defense. The defense is doing an unbelievable job of creating fast breaks and odd man situations." As the team has come together this year the Panther's have been able to put up more and more goals while holding their opponents to very few possessions.
Howe sees the potential of this year's team, once it comes together, as limitless; there have been no indications yet that this team is complacent with where it stands. "We have a ton of talent and we can be very dangerous at times," Howe noted, "but we need to continue to play four quarters at a consistently high-level."
As the team gears up for the second half of the year, it has become evident that the Panthers are challenging themselves to get better, in hopes of pursuing another championship.