Men’s Lacrosse Splits NESCAC Play, Beats Springfield

After a successful midweek game against conference foe, Hamilton, the Middlebury Panthers looked to keep their win streak alive against the Colby Mules this past Saturday. The Panthers seemed fired up for this game right from the start, with chants of “What up, Blue!” echoing throughout Youngman Field. After a back-and-forth game, with great plays coming from both sides, Colby outlasted the Panthers by a score of 14-12. The Panthers still remain ahead of the Mules in the NESCAC standings but drop to 4-6 on the year. 

In the first quarter, the Mules put a score on the books first. However, Middlebury quickly rebounded with two shots coming from Zeke Emerson ’20 and up-and-coming star, Will Brossman. Colby was able to settle in for the rest of the quarter, firing back three goals to lead 4-2 at the end of 15 minutes. 

After a harsh cross-checking penalty committed by Colby at the start of the second, freshman phenom, Tyler Forbes, scored a man-up goal at the 9:28 mark. Colby responded quickly but then committed yet another penalty to put Middlebury at the advantage. For the next five minutes, it was all Middlebury. Three goals came from three different players, putting the Panthers up 6-5 and giving them a little momentum. However, a lackluster penalty by Alex Farley at the 4:22 mark of the second gave Colby the opportunity to rally off three goals and regain the lead 8-6. In the last seconds of the half, A.J Kucinski fired a shot on goal, assisted by Brossman, to put the Panthers within one.

In the third, the Panthers again had control of the entire quarter. Colby scored first, but the home team was able to respond with three goals of their own. Forbes tallied another on an outstanding shot, meanwhile the upperclassmen on the team contributed their own. At the 2:18 mark in the third quarter, the two teams were tied. In the 4th, the Panthers took a quick lead. Unfortunately, their defense seemed to lose some traction and Colby answered by scoring 4 of the next 5 goals. With a minute left to go in the game, Middlebury was down three until Chase Goree ’20 found the net. However, the deficit was too much to overcome. Colby scored again as the time ran down. 

Despite a strong effort, the Panthers fell to 3-4 in conference play. They look to take on Trinity this upcoming weekend at home in a pivotal NESCAC game. With a win, the Panthers can move towards the top of the tightly contested pack as they soon approach the end of April and playoff season.