Parsimonious Palmisano protected the pipes

Author: Andrew Donnantuono

Led by a stellar performance from goalie and Co-Captain Alex Palmisano '07, the men's lacrosse team beat Stevens Institute of Technology on March 11 by a slim 7-5 margin. The eighth-ranked Ducks made the trip up from Hoboken, N.J., but were greeted by the parsimonious Palmisano, who made 13 saves and scooped up 11 ground balls in the game.

"Alex was tremendous in the cage for us," said Coach Dave Campbell '00. "Stevens has an explosive offense. I didn't expect us to hold them to five goals, but that says a lot about what Alex was able to do as well as the rest of our defense."

The tape will show that Sunday's game was undoubtedly played in Vermont, for snow banks of three and four feet high surrounded Kohn Field. Even so, the turf was hot and yielded four goals within the first twelve minutes of play. Captain Nick Bastis '07 and Mike Stone '09 exchanged scores with the Ducks' John Dolny and Josh Holmes, as Middlebury twice relinquished a one-goal lead.

It was a low-scoring affair until the fourth quarter, as Middlebury held a 5-2 advantage after the third period. The Panthers lead took 31 minutes and 13 seconds to build between goals by Bastis with 1:47 remaining in the first quarter and sophomore James Guay's half-field heave with 34 seconds left in the third quarter, but it all evaporated in less than four minutes. Matt Althauser scored twice and Matt Keating netted the equalizer for Stevens with a hip-high lefty shot that beat Palmisano to the inside right post.

Middlebury was not denied the win in a game that could have gone either way. The Panthers forced a turnover near midfield and Tom Petty '09 grabbed the bouncing ball on his way toward the net. He was knocked to the turf, but only after his shot crossed the goal line.

"Tom at attack had a solid first start," said Campbell. "We're expecting a big year out of him."

Even though Petty gave Middlebury a tentative 6-5 lead, the final 5:45 proved to be far less nerve-racking than might have been expected. Middlebury effectively kept possession and killed off most of the clock. With one minute left, Co-Captain Peter Mellen '07, who won six of his 12 faceoffs, rounded the Stevens net and was able to score without difficulty because Dunderdale was missing from the cage.

Statistically, the game could not have been more evenly played. Stevens outshot Middlebury 38 to 30, as they did a nice job backing up their shots and possessing the ball, particularly in the first half. Stevens collected 43 ground balls to Middlebury's 39. Neither team had any success on their man-up opportunities, as Middlebury went 0-4 and Stevens went 0-5.

"For our season opener we played great as a team," said Palmisano. "I cannot express how important this was to have so many young guys step up into important roles."

Middlebury looks set to begin its quest for a seventh consecutive NESCAC crown when Connecticut College, the team Campbell coached for the previous three years, visits Middlebury on March 17. The 0-1 Camels, ranked 61st on laxpower.com, will be looking to pull off a major upset and to spoil their former coach's bid for his second win.