Third Time: Middlebury, Tufts to Clash Again
from press release
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Middlebury men's lacrosse team
will visit Tufts for the third time this season, on Wednesday, May
19th at 4:00 p.m. After a regular season game and the NESCAC
Championship game, this contest will be an NCAA Quarterfinal
match-up, with a trip to the semifinals on the line. The game will
be played on Bello Field at Tufts University, with tickets priced
at $5 for adults and $3 for students.
Middlebury advanced to the quarterfinal round after a 16-8 victory
at Rensselaer on Saturday. David Hild had a huge game with five
goals, while Tim Cahill scored three times. Leading 3-2 after one
quarter, the Panthers scored 11 goals through the next two periods
to put the game out of reach. Middlebury held a 49-33 shots
advantage in the game, as Ryan Deane made 11 saves.
Middlebury outscored Goucher 6-2 in the second half on its way to a
10-6 win at home in the first-round of the tournament on May 12th.
Hild scored three times, while Cahill netted two in the victory.
The Panthers held a 44-28 advantage in shots, winning 14 of 19
face-offs in the game, as Deane made 10 stops.
The Panthers are 31-10 in NCAA play since they first qualified for
the tourney in '96. Their .756 NCAA winning percentage is higher
than any other team currently competing in Division III lacrosse.
Middlebury has advanced to the NCAA title game in six of the last
10 seasons, winning three straight NCAA crowns in '00, '01 and
'02.
This season, Middlebury opened league play with back-to-back wins
over Bates and Wesleyan before suffering back-to-back one-goal
losses to Connecticut College (8-7) and Colby (9-8). Following a
14-6 victory over Amherst, the Panthers dropped their first contest
to the Polar Bears since 2002 in an 11-6 loss on April 10.
Middlebury went on to win six of its next eight contests, before
falling 13-12 in the NESCAC Championship game. Three of
Middlebury's five losses this season came by just one goal.
The Middlebury offense has come on strong this season, scoring in
double digits in each of its last five games, including a
season-high 16 goals at Rensselaer last week. The defense has been
steady all season long, allowing just 7.61 goals/game, while
holding their opponents to a .766 clear percentage. In net, Deane
has played 99% of the minutes posting a 7.59 goals against average,
a .616 save percentage, and a 13-5 record. Leading that defense
this season have been senior Charlie Schopp and sophomore Matt
Rayner (55 ground balls).
Offensively, Hild has been on fire as of late, scoring 20 of his
team-high 39 goals in the last five games (all post-season). He
leads the team with 50 points, while owning 11 assists, three-game
winners and four man-up goals. Joining him on attack are Cahill and
Pete Smith. Cahill is second on the team with 24 goals in '10,
including 14 times in the last five games (all post-season). Smith
paces the team with 27 assists on the season to go along with his
18 goals and 45 points. He leads the team with five man-up goals
and 66 ground balls.
Andrew Connor, Chris Teves and Erich Pfeffer have led the offensive
middies in scoring this season. Connor is third on the team with 23
goals and 30 points, scoring in all but one game this season. Teves
is fifth on the squad with 18 points (13-5-18), entering the
scoring column in all five post-season games this year. Pfeffer has
a three-game point streak, owning seven goals and 10 assists for 17
points on the season.
Alex Englert, Jeff Begin and Bart Witmer see major time in the
defensive midfield, while Charlie Schopp and Matt Rayner are the
mainstays on defense.
This will be the 45th all-time meeting between Middlebury and
Tufts, with the Panthers holding a 32-11-1 series advantage. The
teams have met every year since '01, with Middlebury holding an
11-3 lead. Middlebury knocked off the Jumbos in the '06 and '07
NESCAC semifinals, with Tufts winning the '10 title game here on
May 9th by a score of 13-12. The Jumbos also won this season's
regular season match-up, handing the Panthers a 10-5 loss here on
April 24th.
Tufts is making its second straight and third overall NCAA
Appearance. The Jumbos are currently 17-1, after earning an 8-1
record in NESCAC play en route to their first conference title.
D.J. Hessler (32-46-78), Ryan Molloy (34-25-59), Sean Kirwan
(43-5-48) and Matt Witko (34-7-41) lead the team in scoring. The
team averages 13.22 goals/game, while allowing 8.33/contest. Steven
Foglietta has played a majority of the minutes in goal, owning an
8.58 GAA and a .524 save percentage.
