Men's lacrosse squeaks by Bates

Author: Jeb Burchenal

Coming into Saturday's home opener, the men's lacrosse team had an all-time record of 21-0 against Bates. Couple that with preseason rankings of #3 and #4 from InsideLacrosse and LaxPower, respectively, and it seemed a given that the Panthers would crush the Bobcats. But thinking back to the NESCAC Championship streak that ended for the Panthers last year, Charlie Schopp '10 was quick to point out that "ranking doesn't matter, its what you prove on the field."

While the men lost several key players from last year's team, the silver lining in these losses is that these holes opened the door for the stockpile of young talent recruited under third-year coach Dave Campbell. David Hild '11 replaced Jim Cabrera '08 as the physical presence at attack while first-year players Briggs Davis '12, Matt Rayner '12 and Henry Clark '12 saw time at long pole.

The first half showed that while Middlebury has the talent, youth has a downside when it comes to the value of experience. Bates jumped on the young defense early, scoring five goals in the first quarter, but captain Mike Stone '09 kept the pace with his first quarter hat trick. The guys chalked their struggles up to "working out the kinks." Schopp sighted a "lack of communication in the first half, so the slide package was a little off."

The second quarter proved more cohesive, but was still replete with early season screw-ups. Without Bambrick and Guay, slides seemed a step late and without enough body, but the offense settled into a better rhythm and the Panthers matched four Bobcat goals to keep the game within two at the half.

After regrouping over halftime, Middlebury came out looking like a team that should be in the running for a national championship later this spring. Three of last year's top four scorers - Stone, Tom Petty '09, and Matt Ferrer '09 - sparked a four-goal third quarter, while captain Pete Britt '09 stopped three shots, shutting out Bates for the quarter. Hild helped the Panthers parlay that successful third quarter into a seven-to-one run, scoring three straight Middlebury goals. The sophomore's performance shows what can happen when you "work your butt off in the offseason," said Schopp. Hild worked hard to develop his shot, but most importantly, "he has stepped up to be a big contributor to the team so far this season."

While a 16-13 victory over Bates is not much to brag about, it is a building block for the rest of the season. Spectators have become accustomed to perfection after years of Panther dominance, but the rest of the NESCAC schools are catching up. In providing the team with an opportunity to test out some of its young talent, this victory was very important for the team.

The bottom line: a win is a win.