Attacks spend afternoon annihilating Amherst

Author: Andrew Donnantuono

The men's lacrosse team got back on track with a tidy 19-9 win over the Lord Jeffs of Amherst on Saturday afternoon.

Three hundred spectators watched Middlebury grab its third conference win and 20th straight over Amherst, who had fallen to Middlebury by just one goal in each of the past three seasons. Saturday's affair was never particularly close, as Amherst held its only lead of the game, 1-0, for the first 58 seconds.

"We worked hard, out-shot, out-groundballed, and outworked them," said Dave Campbell '08. "It was nice to see the team play a full game and come out with a decisive win."

Amherst took that lead when Derek Cherney opened the scoring 45 seconds into the game. Despite the quick goal, Amherst established very little in the first quarter, and Middlebury took advantage with six goals in a row.

Mike Stone '09 tied it, and within a minute Rory Sanborn '08 scored the first of his two goals to give the Panthers a lead they would not relinquish.

Including Sanborn, seven men on Middlebury netted at least two shots. Having responded swiftly to the opener by Cherney, the Panthers began to assert themselves with lengthy possessions and physical play.

The hosts tallied another four goals, bridging the first and second periods, before Amherst could tally its second. The Lord Jeffs scored twice midway through the second quarter courtesy of T.J. Jackson, but Middlebury Captain Nick Bastis '07 quelled any thoughts of an Amherst comeback when he beat Matt Pietroforte with a lefty bounce shot. Middlebury entered the second half up 8-3.

The third quarter was not short on fireworks. In the period, 27 shots, including 16 by Middlebury were taken, 13 of which resulted in goals. Of these 13 goals, 9 were netted by Middlebury. Oddly enough, all 13 of the goals were scored in the second half of the quarter, and eight of those came in the final 3:09.

Jeff Begin '10 scored the first goal of his Middlebury career with 7:42 remaining, and then the floodgates opened. Pre-season All-American selection Jim Cabrera '08 had two, as did Thomas Foote for Amherst. Each team hit a post and took a penalty in the third as well.

With the lead at 17-7 after three, Middlebury emptied its bench as Head Coach Dave Campbell '00 gave some valuable playing time to the younger midfield lines and attackers. Ironically, while the fewest goals were scored in the fourth quarter, the best one of the entire game came in that very period.

With ten minutes to go, Tom Petty '09 tried a shot from the crease that was stuffed by Amherst goalie Andrew Harrison, who had replaced Pietroforte after Middlebury went on its 6-0 run.

Petty leapt for his own rebound and ripped it mid-air into the top shelf, drawing oohs and aahs from the crowd.

Captain Peter Mellen '07 further established himself as one of the best face-off men in Division III, finishing 11-15 on the afternoon. On the season, Mellen has won 67 of his 102 face-off tries-a .657 rate.

With the win, Middlebury put the brakes on a two game skid and now sits atop the NESCAC with a 3-1 record, 5-2 overall this season. The Panthers face a huge test on Tuesday when they clash with the undefeated (9-0) Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Red Hawks at Kohn Field, a team they preyed on 13-4 on the road last season.