Middlebury Downs Goucher, 10-6; RPI Next
from press release
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Middlebury men's lacrosse team
advanced to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament , after a 10-6
win over Goucher. The Panthers (12-5) will visit Rensselaer on
Saturday, May 15th in a second-round match-up, as they improve to
30-10 all-time in NCAA play. Goucher ends its season at 14-4,
making their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
After 9:12 of scoreless play, Middlebury broke the draught as David
Hild scored his team-leading 32nd goal of the season with a bouncer
from the left side at the 5:48 mark. Jack Masur cut from behind the
goal and scored through the five hole to make it a 2-0 game 50
seconds later.
Goucher came back with a pair of goals 1:10 apart early in the
second quarter to tie the game at 2-2. Jacob Fratella scored with a
rocket from the outside at 12:52, before Matt Lynch netted his 35th
of the season from the right side.
Hild scored from left side at 10:04 to give Middlebury a 3-2 lead,
before Lynch scored the equalizer at the 6:59 mark with a blast
from the left side. The Panthers again took a one-goal lead when
Masur found a cutting Tim Cahill for his 20th of the year just 57
seconds later. The Gophers responded when Lynch notching his second
of the game carrying the ball in from 40 yards out before scoring.
The half ended in a 4-4 tie, with Middlebury opening the second
half with a man-up opportunity.
The Panthers went on a three-goal run in the third, taking a 7-4
lead with 3:45 remaining. Andrew Connor netted his 21st of the
season with a feed from Pete Smith at 7:41, before Peter Jennings
won the ensuing face-off and drove to the goal for his second of
the year. Bart Witmer scored driving to the goal from the right
side to end the three-goal run at the 3:45 mark. Kyle Boncaro
netted his first of two goals for Goucher with 56 second left to
make it a 7-5 game after three quarters.
Middlebury extended its lead to 8-5 in the fourth when Chris Teves
made a spin move in front of the crease with 12:48 left. Goucher
responded four minutes later when Boncaro scored his 40th goal of
the season, cutting the Panther advantage to 8-6 with 8:44
remaining. Hild collected a hat trick on a power move at 4:31,
backing his defender in before spinning to the crease for a shot
between the legs of Goucher goalie Chris Stricklin. Middlebury
capped the scoring at 10-6 on a cross-crease pass from Smith to
Cahill during a man-up possession with 2:22 left in the game. The
Gophers did get a few looks to close the gap, but three off target
shots and a save by Panther goalie Ryan Deane preserved the
win.
Hild's hat trick paced Middlebury, as Cahill netted a pair of goals
and Masur added a goal and an assist. Lynch led all scorers for
Goucher with four points on a pair of goals and two assists, while
Rory Averett added a goal and two assists, as Boncaro chipped in a
pair of goals.
The Panthers held a decisive face-off advantage, winning 14 of 19
attempts, as Brian Foster won eight out of nine tries. Middlebury
out-shot the Gophers 44-28 on the afternoon, forcing Strickland to
make 14 saves while allowing 10 goals. Deane stopped 10 shots en
route to the win in net for Middlebury.
