Double Time: Middlebury Demolishes RPI
from press release
RENSSELAER, N.Y. – The Middlebury men's lacrosse
team advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament after a
16-8 victory over Rensselaer at East Campus Stadium on Saturday
afternoon. David Hild has a huge game at attack for Middlebury,
scoring five goals, while assisting on another. With the win, the
Panthers (13-5) improve to 31-10 all-time in NCAA play and will
travel to Tufts on Wednesday for an NCAA quarterfinal match-up. The
Engineers making their third NCAA appearance, end their season at
14-3. The Panthers won an earlier match-up against Rensselaer at
East Campus Stadium 9-6 on April 20th.
Middlebury opened up the first quarter firing, holding an early 7-3
advantage in shots, before Russell Banker notched his first goal of
the season at 8:33 off a feed from Bart Witmer. Less than two
minutes later, Hild slid a five-hole shot past Engineer goalie
James Manchester for a 2-0 lead with 6:45 left. Rensselaer got on
the board as Andrew Miller collected a pass from Nick Billy for a
lefty tally, netting the ball in the top corner at 5:38. Hild
answered with a southpaw dodge to the middle of the field at 4:30,
before Billy responded with a goal at 3:00, cutting the Panther
advantage to 3-2 after the first quarter.
The Panthers opened the second quarter with a 3-0 run on unassisted
goals by Chris Teves and Pete Smith, as Hild's third score capped
the spurt at 9:00 for a 6-2 lead. The Engineers responded quickly
to Hild's goal, winning the ensuing faceoff as Andrew Liptak scored
11 seconds later, cutting the deficit to 6-3. Hild bookended the
Liptak tally, with a dodge from behind the X, adding a hi-low fake
on Manchester for his fourth score at 7:51.
Andrew Conner added another for Middlebury at 6:42 before Paul
DiLandro scored exactly one minute later on a transition goal,
setting the score at 8-4 in favor of the Panthers. In the final
minutes, Middlebury set up a methodical attack, eventually freeing
Tim Cahill as he snuck in from the left goal line extended with 22
seconds left for the score, taking a 9-4 advantage into the
break.
Both team exchanged goals to open the third before another 3-0
Panther spurt gave Middlebury a 13-5 lead. A rifle shot from Erich
Pfeffer started the run at 10:58, as Hild notched his fifth goal
off a Banker assist. Matt Virtue ended the run with a five-hole
shot at 8:30. Eric Valero ended the run at 4:18, collecting a
groundball off a save by Panther goalie Ryan Deane for a point
blank tally, setting the score at 13-6. Banker added his second
goal of the season with 1:10 remaining off a feed by Conner for a
14-6 lead after three quarters.
A pair of Cahill goals, including a man-up tally, capped the
Panther scoring in the fourth as Rensselaer's Billy added the final
goal of the game.
Hild led all scorers with five goals and one assist, as he has
accounted for 13 goals in his last three games, 20 of his team-high
39 in the last five games. Cahill added a hat trick, while Conner
added a pair of goals and two assists, as Alex Englert had a
game-high six ground balls for Middlebury. Deane earned the win in
net for the Panthers, stopping 11 shots, as reserve Charles Ward
played the final 3:34 and added a save. Billy led Rensselaer with
two goals and an assist, while six others added goals for the
Engineers. Manchester suffered the loss for Rensselaer, making 13
saves on the afternoon, allowing 16 goals.
