Working overtime pays off for Ephs Richard Reuter's goal 308 into the extra frame wins the game

Author: Jeb Burchenal

This past Saturday, the Middlebury men's lacrosse team finally lost its stranglehold on the NESCAC conference. After a stellar regular season that positioned the Panthers for a run at an eighth straight NESCAC championship and an NCAA championship, the men found their match.

Visiting Williams, whom Middlebury beat 7-6 earlier in the season, continued its hot-streak as the Ephs upset the top-seeded host 11-10 in overtime.

The Panthers played at a much higher level than in their regular-season meeting with the Ephs, but it was not enough to rally past the surging Williams squad.

Teams seem to have found success against Middlebury when they are able to slow the tempo of the game. The Panthers have a strong core of two-way midfielders who can really push the ball on clears and become hasty on the offensive end if they have not touched the ball for extended periods of time.

Williams was not as overt in its use of this tactic as other teams this season, but they deliberately worked the ball around before making moves toward the cage. The Panther offense showed restraint in the early goings, but as time was winding down, especially in the overtime, the Panthers showed an unwillingness to wait for an opening and instead opted to force the ball.

Though Middlebury never led during the contest, Williams was never able to generate a lead of greater than three goals and the teams traded goals throughout much of the first three quarters.

Jim Cabrera '08 knotted the game up at eight and added an assist on Mike Stone's '09 goal that again tied the game at nine as part of an active fourth quarter. The senior also finished with a game-high nine shots from the midfield.

With just over a minute left in a tie ballgame, Williams opted to take its final timeout. The Ephs found the match-up they were looking for and one of their top midfielders blew past a short-stick Middlebury defensemen for the go-ahead goal.

However, the usually patient Williams offense made the mistake of breaking the tie with 54 seconds remaining on the clock. Right on cue, Dave Campbell '09 won one of his 14 faceoffs on the day and raced down the field before coach Dave Campbell '00 took his final timeout.

Out of the break, Stone beat his defenseman, forcing a long slide from the Williams defenders, and found Matt Ferrer '09, who forced overtime with his low bouncer. After Campbell won the faceoff to open overtime, the Panther offense threw the ball away out of a timeout and opened the door for Richard Reuter's late-game heroics.

The Panthers put a lot of pressure on the diminutive Eph goalie Michael Gerbush, firing 39 shots, but the sophomore was up to the task and made 16 saves while only allowing 10 goals against.

Though Middlebury was unable to continue its NESCAC championship streak, its stellar regular season was enough to earn the Pantheres an at-large NCAA bid and a first- round bye.

The Panthers had such an impressive resume heading into the loss to Williams that tournament voters still seeded them higher than the eventual NESCAC champion Ephs.

Middlebury will be at home again this Saturday at 1:00 p.m., when they play host to the winner of a first-round match-up played on Wednesday between Bowdoin and Mt. Ida. The Panthers will look to put their most recent upset behind them and continue their push toward their first NCAA championship since 2002.