Panthers prevail in dramatic fashion Midd lets eight goal halftime lead slip before winning in OT

Author: Geoff Homer

Playing in front of an overwhelmingly hostile Bowdoin crowd of roughly 1000 Polar Bear students and alumni, lined two and three deep on the sideline, the Middlebury men's lacrosse team held on for the victory in overtime. The 12-11 victory was the first victory at Brunswick that members of the 2006 squad had been a part of. The game was anything but ordinary, as players from both squads commented it was one of the strangest games they had ever played in. As Travis Meyer '06 confirmed, "It was the most contrasting game of lacrosse that I have ever been a part of. To be up by eight at half and almost throw the game away to win in overtime at Bowdoin is something I won't soon forget."

Coming into the game, the Panthers knew it was going to be a battle. Bowdoin is traditionally one of Middlebury's biggest league rivals, and the game had added importance because of league standings, since both teams had only one loss prior to the contest. On the mindset of the team, Co-captain Meyer said, "Playing Bowdoin on the road means that you can throw out the records and the comparative scores because Bowdoin always plays hard at home." With their victory at home against Tufts earlier in the week, the squad was confident and fired up to start the game.

The Panthers stormed out of the gates to open the game, playing their best half of lacrosse this season. Dominating on both sides of the ball, the Panther defense shut down the Polar Bear offense as Gabe Wood '06 played phenomenally against one of the best players in the league. The attack moved the ball with precision allowing J.P. Coviello '06 to score four goals and Jim Cabrera '08 to add three of his own. The midfield, led by Peter Mellen '07, controlled the face-offs and created numerous fast-break opportunities and dictated the pace of the game. By the end of the half, the Panthers were up 11-3 with goals from Jeff Pello '06, Hank Sheehan '06 and Nick Bastis '07, in addition to those of Coviello and Cabrera.

Going into halftime, the team was confident as they had been all season. "Everything was clicking for us," said Meyer. "Alex Palmisano ['07] was making saves, the defense was creating turnovers, and the offense was creating opportunities and finishing them." However, the Panthers knew Bowdoin wouldn't give up without a fight. As expected, Bowdoin came out firing and scored the first goal of the half off a broken clear. Explaining Bowdoin's resurgence, Sheehan said, "Bowdoin scored a goal, made a couple offensive and defensive adjustments, and won a couple face-offs. Once they had the momentum, our offense couldn't score a goal to break their run." Bowdoin's play mirrored that of the Panther's first half, with Polar Bear Ryan Hurd tying the game up in the fourth quarter, sending it to overtime.

Going into overtime, Coach Quinn reminded his team that the second half was over, and they had a fresh chance to win the game. The Panthers lost the opening face-off, but in what was arguably the play of the game, long-stick midfielder Glenn Bickley '08 made a great check before Bowdoin was able get in the box to call a time-out, and scooped up the ground ball. On a fast-break, Bickley took the ball upfield and passed it to Frank Granara '08 who was able to create a three-on-two advantage against Bowdoin's defense. Granara then passed it to a wide-open Cabrera who one-timed it for the game winner.

Looking ahead, the Panthers hope to continue their NESCAC success as they host Trinity this Saturday at 1 p.m. and Williams on Wednesday. If the Panthers can play like they did in the first half on Saturday, the sky's the limit.