Men's lacrosse wins 11-10 thriller over Tufts Jumbos

Author: Jeb Burchenal

Middlebury and Tufts took to Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium this past Saturday as the top two teams in the NESCAC conference. At 9-1, Tufts was having its best start in years, while Middlebury, at 8-1, was living up to its long-established pedigree. A victory would give either team sole possession of first place with only three games remaining before the NESCAC playoffs.

The game lived up to its expectations, with both teams playing neck-and-neck throughout most of the contest. In the end, it was the home team that prevailed, as a Mike Stone '09 goal in the final period capped the scoring and lifted the Panthers to an exhilarating 11-10 victory over the Jumbos.

The fast-paced first half should have played into the high-scoring, transition offense of the Jumbos, but the Panthers met them at every turn and never relinquished the lead. At the end of the first half, Middlebury led Tufts 8-6.

This might seem fairly normal for two potent offenses, but at this point Middlebury had eight different goal scorers. For an offense built around All-American Tri-Captain Stone and a very talented attack core, this was a great indicator of the maturing Panther offense.

"We went into the game knowing it would be close," said defenseman Charlie Schopp '10. "We were a lot more intense than they were; we played great on-ball defense, we were moving the ball well in offense and that generated a lot of good looks."

The first 10 minutes of the third quarter was a clinic. Though the Panthers were only able to generate one goal, they wore down the Tufts defense as they kept the ball on the offensive end.

The possession epitomized lacrosse offense. Constant ball movement complemented off-ball cuts; shots were created off the drive and the pass; the Panthers won almost every ground ball, backed up every shot and rode hard when they did lose possession. All the while, the powerful Jumbo offense was unable to score and Tri-captain goalie Pete Britt '09 and the defense had time to save their legs for the inevitable late game flurry.

Tufts fought back to gain momentum and tie the game at 10-10 with seven minutes remaining. Stone shouldered his responsibility and buried a signature righty laser on the run, to put Middlebury on top for good with six minutes left.

The last few minutes saw two critical Tufts possessions. With approximately 30 seconds left, Britt slid across the crease to make a big backdoor save, but the Panthers botched the clear, giving the Jumbos a last breath of hope.

But it was not to be. With four seconds left, the Middlebury defense collapsed on a driving Jumbo, forcing his momentum into the crease and ending the threat.

"In the end, we out-hustled them, out -groundballed them and played a much more intense game," said Schopp.

As the last four seconds rolled off of the clock, the Panthers rushed onto the field. The team mobbed together to celebrate the win, but it was clear that the men recognized Britt as the catalyst for the huge win.

For many readers who are unfamiliar with lacrosse, statistics rarely capture a goalie's performance. Britt's stat line of 12 saves and 10 goals against may not seem spectacular, but the reality is he kept the high-scoring Jumbos to six goals less than their season average and stepped up with two game-changing saves in the last minute and a half. Though 10 got by him, he showed poise and confidence in the clutch to keep the Panthers in the game.

Middlebury will hit the road this Saturday for another tough NESCAC matchup, this time against the Trinity Bantams. Having secured this latest victory, the Panthers are undoubtedly teeming with confidence as they look to solidify their spot atop the NESCAC standings.