Courtesy of Middlebury Sports Information
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The 18th-ranked Amherst College men's lacrosse team saw its five-game win streak come to an end Saturday, falling to Middlebury, 8-7, on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium.
The Jeffs are now 6-2 overall and 2-2 in league play while the Panthers improved to 3-5 and 2-3 in the NESCAC.
After Jack Rautiola '16 opened the game with a goal for Middlebury, the Jeffs rallied for a pair of scores, as Quinn Moroney '16 set-up both tallies for a 2-1 Amherst lead in the first quarter. Rautiola followed the two Amherst goals and tied the score on a nice dodge through the Jeff defense at 4:10.
The Panthers took a 4-2 lead in the second quarter before Moroney set-up Kane Haffey '16 at 10:11. Under a minute later, Middlebury's Stephen Seymour '14 scored his second goal of the game off a quick-stick pass from Brian Ayers '14 for a 5-3 lead. The Panthers built their biggest lead of the game at 6-3 when Jon Broome '16 scored with 2:32 left in the half.
Amherst capped the first-half scoring as Devin Acton '14 netted an upper-corner shot with 20.9 seconds remaining before the break.
Trailing 6-4 at intermission, the Jeffs scored the next two goals to tie the game at six apiece in the third quarter. The duo of Haffey and Moroney followed their earlier exploits with two-more quick-stick connections, knotting the game with 9:14 left in the third.
Broome gave the hosts a fourth-quarter lead after the Jeffs turned the ball over. George Curtis '14 scooped up a groundball and fed Broome for the go-ahead tally at 12:00. Amherst tied the game at 8:18 as Moroney put a point-blank shot past Panther goalie Nate Gaudio '14.
With the score tied at 7-7, the Panthers forced another Amherst turnover. Darric White '14 set-up the game-winner, feeding Rautiola for a transition goal at 7:22, as Middlebury held on for an 8-7 win.
Moroney led all scorers with six points on five assists and one goal, while Haffey finished with three scores. Duncan Morrissey '14 grabbed a game-high eight groundballs, while Amherst goalie Greg Majno '14 made seven saves in defeat.
Rautiola's hat-trick paced Middlebury as Seymour and Broome each netted two goals. Ayers added two helpers as Gaudio earned the win in net, stopping 14 shots.
Amherst is back in action on Wednesday, April 2 for a 6 p.m. Little Three matchup at Wesleyan.