Down 5-1 with less than five minutes gone in the second quarter, the Middlebury men’s lacrosse team was losing control of the game. Connecticut College (Conn) scored two goals in under 30 seconds, sending the baby blue half of the sideline into a frenzy. The Panthers immediately called a timeout, eliciting even rowdier celebrations from the Camels. As they hooted and hollered, the Middlebury team regrouped and returned to the field with refined focus. It took the Camels over half an hour of play to find the net again.
On Saturday, March 7, the Panthers faced Conn at Middlebury’s Youngman Field in their third game of the season. The Panthers opened their campaign the weekend prior with a tightly contested loss at Bowdoin, but found their form at home with a dominant win over RPI last Wednesday. Saturday provided the Middlebury team with an opportunity to rectify its conference record.
Neither team could score in the first eight minutes, with a showing of relatively toothless offensive play. The blustering wind and a reluctant sun kept temperatures cold, as a huddled Middlebury team took turns on the stationary bike on the sideline to stay warm. Yet the game gathered its own heat with time, and the first jolt of action came after eight minutes with a goal from the Camels.
Middlebury’s faceoff specialist, Noah Filippelli ’27, took to the field to restart the game. Locking horns with his Conn opponent at center field, Filippelli snapped towards the ball at the referee’s whistle. As in ice hockey, teams battle for possession following each goal, and the lacrosse faceoff is a critical chance for a team to either maintain their scoring momentum or slow down an opponent. Filippelli won the faceoff, the first of nine successful attempts out of 15.
Several plays passed before Conn struck again. Middlebury promptly responded with a goal of their own, yet the Camels scored to restore their two-point lead with 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Mild dissatisfaction lingered around the Middlebury team and Panther parents at having allowed three goals so easily.
Dissatisfaction swelled to panic as Conn suddenly led by four goals early in the second quarter. Head coach Dave Campbell ’00 brought his players in for a huddle and, at the decisive point of the game, sent the team back out with renewed confidence. Be it the speech, adjusted tactics or both, the timeout was effective.
“We try to have a next play mentality, regardless of what’s going on,” captain J.D. Farkas ’26 said. “We forgot this a little bit to start the game, but the message in the timeout helped reset and ground the guys. I think we were able to better embrace that mentality for the rest of the game.”
James Farinacci ’27 scored less than two minutes after the timeout, closing the gap to 5-2. The Panthers won their faceoff and kept the pressure on, peppering Conn’s goal until Gavin Romweber ’29 launched the ball past the Camels’ goalie to narrow the deficit to two. Repeat saves from goalie Hayden Kern ’26 kept the Conn team from snapping Middlebury’s dominant run, and in the final minutes of the quarter, Will Ford ’27 found the net from a tight angle to register his fourth goal of the season. The Panthers were rolling.
“The offense did an awesome job of picking up some of our slack and getting us back into the game at the end of the first half,” Kern said. “That push really helped the whole team rally behind them.”
Heading into the second half, the game resumed with a certain inevitability in Middlebury’s favor. The Connecticut College squad could not respond to the Panthers’ momentum, with Filippelli winning the opening faceoff, sending the team downfield. Ninety seconds elapsed before Middlebury drew the game even, with Ford assisting Nick Marvin ’28 to make the game 5-5.
In what was an even match of passive-aggressive support between lacrosse moms and dads from both teams, the Middlebury parents truly found their voices by the midpoint of the third quarter. The run of play favored the Panthers, and soon the team scored its sixth consecutive goal to assume the lead for the first time. Conn tried to rally their offense, repeatedly testing Middlebury’s Kern and even glancing a shot off the post, yet an effective response remained elusive.
Commanding play from both ends of the field saw Middlebury take an 8-5 lead by the end of the third quarter, concluded by a thumping long-range effort from Ged Gengras ’27. The Camels remained competitive nonetheless, proving hard to shake as the fourth quarter progressed. Following a penalty on the Panthers, the Camels made use of a one-player advantage to finally exit their scoring desert. Yet a goal in response from middie John McCarthy ’27, along with crucial saves from Kern, kept the game out of reach for the Connecticut team.
“We’re all playing hard to increase the likelihood of getting more time with each other,” Farkas reflected. “We only have 14 guaranteed games, so we go into every game with the goal of helping secure more days spent together once the regular season ends.”
The game ended 9-7 with tangible Panther confidence. Unbending optimism on offense and a season-high 15 saves from Panther goalie Kern were key in the team’s dominant comeback on Saturday. Now 1–1 against NESCAC opponents, Middlebury will face another conference opponent in Trinity next Saturday, followed by Babson on Sunday— two chances that could help extend the team’s time together into the postseason.
Simon Schmieder '26 (he/him) is a Senior Sports Editor.
Simon is an avid runner and biker and enjoys spending time outdoors. He is a philosophy and political science joint major with a minor in German, in addition to being a Philly sports fan.
