Men's Lacrosse Stuck in Mud Against Gettysburg, Suffers First Loss

Author: David Freedman

The Middlebury men's lacrosse team moved to 5-1 on the season after four games in the span of nearly 10 days. The Panthers picked up two New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victories in an 18-8 decision over Connecticut College on March 22 and a 16-7 rout of Wesleyan College on March 29. Middlebury faced tougher games in its non-conference games against the traditionally strong opponents from Springfield College and Gettysburg College.
In a game where Springfield showed tremendous resilience, Middlebury showed signs of the team's potential for dominance in an 11-7 victory. Chris Davis '03 opened the scoring three minutes in off a pass from Greg Bastis '04, and made the score 2-0 with a rip from 12 yards out. Mike Saraceni '04 scored off a goal from Jon Sisto '06 for the first of his three goals on the afternoon. Mike Frissora '03 had two outstanding drives to the net for two unassisted goals of his own.
Head Coach Erin Quinn was pleased with what he called "a solid day for the attack. We scored on four of four extra man possessions and generally finished well."
While the Panthers got into double-figure scoring with some improved offensive play, the man of the day was goalie Eric Krieger '04. Krieger made save after save, holding an offense that averages nearly 14 goals a game to half that total. Krieger almost single-handedly held off a Springfield rally in the third and fourth quarters with amazing displays of quickness and his uncanny ability for clearing. Krieger even got into the offensive mix when he blocked a Springfield shot, picked up a ground ball between two opponents and ran 50 yards downfield to dish the ball off to Ben Tobey '04, who put the ball in the back of the net to give Krieger the first assist of his career.
Although Krieger had a great effort in goal, the game was too close for the Panthers' liking. The team has been dependent on strong defensive play from all the long- and short-pole defenders, but Quinn has noticed that most of its opponents' goals are scored off turnovers and botched plays rather than the other team breaking the defense down. In order to minimize the possessions of its opponents it is necessary for the team as a whole "to eliminate unforced turnovers and take care of the ball more," Quinn said.
The conditions the team would face at Gettysburg put these concerns into reality. Sisto painted a picture of the condition of the field. "It seemed like it was six inches of mud where the ball was constantly disappearing into the field."
Because of the mud, the referees had to use alternate possession rules for whenever the ball was lost in the grass. Quinn saw his team take half the number of shots it normally takes in a game and watched Gettysburg control possession after possession.
Saraceni would put the Panthers up 3-1, and Mark Foster '05 kept the Bullets at bay with a goal prior to halftime to make it 4-3, but Gettysburg would knot the score just before the break. With Middlebury down 7-4 late in the fourth quarter, Saraceni put one away and assisted on Charlie Howe's '04 goal to make it 7-6 with 10 minutes left. This would be the final score as Middlebury would come up empty on its final three possessions despite a man advantage for one and an open shot on another. With its first loss on the year coming so early in the season, Quinn is still pleased with the progress of the team. "To Gettysburg's credit, they handled the ball and the conditions extremely well. It was a difficult day, but we would have liked to have handled the situation better."
Travis Meyer '06 reiterated the coach's points: "Both teams played on the same field; we just have to keep on improving. Hopefully we'll learn from this loss and become a stronger team because of it."
Middlebury would not let its third loss in three years linger as it came out strong against Wesleyan University on March 29. Howe led the way in the scoring column with four goals and two assists. Saraceni had another strong day with three assists of his own, while Andrew Giordano '04 and Frissora each put two balls in the back of the net.
Middlebury methodically put Wesleyan away in a strong rebound effort. The strong play on defense and the more consistent finishing on offense gave some of the lesser used players some time to show their ability. First-years Aaron Herter '06 and Henry Sheehan '06 scored the first goals of their Middlebury careers in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter to make the final score 16-7.
Middlebury has strong NESCAC opponents ahead and, despite the setback at Gettysburg, is improving its play and coming together as a team. With Saraceni and Howe leading the way in points, Davis, Frissora and Brian McGregor '03 stepping up as team leaders and Krieger in goal, the Panthers are getting closer to where they want to be. The team is driving toward another NCAA Championship, and that goal seems to be within their sights as the season gets rolling.