Medford, Mass. - The Middlebury College Panthers outscored the Trinity College Bantams, 5-2, in the fourth quarter to take an 11-10 victory in the semifinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Men's Lacrosse Championship Tournament played at Tufts University's Bello Field this afternoon. No. 3-seeded Middlebury improves to 12-3, and will play host and top-seeded Tufts in the 2011 NESCAC final on Sunday at noon. No. 4-seeded Trinity is now 12-4 will keep its hopes up for an at-large bid into its first NCAA Tournament.
Trailing 6-5 at halftime, the Bantams scored all three goals in the third quarter to take an 8-6 lead over the Panthers. Sophomore Jeff Hebert (Cornwall, Ontario) had two of the tallies as Trinity gained its first lead of the contest. Middlebury scored a pair of goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, including senior Alex Giammarco's tally at 11:59 which tied the score at 8-8. Just 38 seconds later, Trinity regained the lead 9-8 on a man-up goal by sophomore Rob Nogueras. However, the Panthers scored the next three to lead 11-9 on Andrew Conner's strike with 4:26 on the clock. The Bantams pulled within one (11-10) on a goal by Nick Shaheen (Williamsburg, Mass.) at the 2:15 mark. As the clock wound down, Middlebury senior goalie Ryan Deane saved a challenging shot by Hebert to help preserve the win for the Panthers. Middlebury sophomore Erich Pfeffer had scored three consecutive goals early as the Panthers took a 4-1 lead. The Bantams netted four of the remaining six goals scored in the second, pulling within 6-5 when junior long-stick middie Eric Phillips (Darien, Conn.) scored the second Trinity goal within 17 seconds at 1:34.
The Panthers finished with a 52-30 advantage in shots. Pfeffer's three led the way, while Conner and junior Tim Cahill each had two. Sophomore Mike Giordan finished with a goal and two assists. Deane made six saves overall and led the Panthers with six ground balls. Sophomore Billy Chapman collected four. Trinity junior Peter Johnson (Riverside, Conn.) made 21 saves, including seven in the third quarter when the Bantams took the lead. Hebert's three goals and two each by sophomore Rob Nogueras (Parkland, Fla.) and Shaheen led Trinity offensively. The Bantams were +10 in ground balls with 43, as sophomore Steve Manning (Tyngsboro, Mass.) was one of five Trinity players to finish with four. The start of the game was delayed two hours by lightning. Middlebury was two for three on man-up opportunities, and had a 13-12 edge in face-off wins. Trinity scored one man-up goal.
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