Revenge Sweet For Men's Lax in Springfield Rout

Author: David Lindholm

The Middlebury men's lacrosse team survived their first real test of the season, defeating the Springfield College Pride 17-11 in Springfield , Mass., on Tuesday night. The Panthers were coming off a huge 28-2 victory over New England College on March 9, and with the win, Middlebury continues its winning streak, intact from the end of last season, to 15 games. The Panthers' last defeat came from Springfield on March 31, 2001. It was the only loss for Middlebury last season, and they easily overcame the Pride on Tuesday.

Middlebury roared out of the gates, scoring five unanswered goals to start the first quarter. Matt Dunn '02 scored three of those initial five, all unassisted, with the other two coming from Jamie Duke '05 and Mike Frissora '03. Springfield fought back and grabbed two goals, but 1:52 before the close of the first quarter, Dunn scored another unassisted goal to extend the lead to 6-2 at the end of one. Middlebury was able to maintain its lead, and went into the half with a 10-5 advantage.

The third and fourth quarters were more of the same, as the Panthers dominated throughout and held their lead. The final score, 17-11, was indicative of the game, as the result was never in doubt. Dunn finished the game with six goals, David Seely '02 had three, Frissora and Zach Herbert '02 added two apiece, and Duke, Chris Davis '03, Greg Bastis '04, and Brian Gault '03 rounded out the Panther scoring, each with one goal. Eric Krieger '04 played almost the entire game in net, coming up with 18 saves.

The team will now travel to Connecticut College over the weekend where they will try to defend both their winning streak and their number one national ranking.