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WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. - Williams men's
lacrosse couldn't pull out a victory on Senior Day, falling
4-3 to Middlebury in a game marked by the exceptional play of the
goalies from both teams. Williams fell to 5-9 on the season and 4-5
on the NESCAC with the loss, while Middlebury moved to 9-4 on the
season and 5-4 in the conference. Middlebury finished sixth in the
conference, while Williams finished seventh. The one-goal loss is
the Ephs' fourth of the season.
Eph Stephen Vrla and Panther Ryan Deane both had remarkable games,
as both finished with 19 saves. Eph turnovers were ultimately the
team's downfall – although the men outshot the Panthers
42-36 and won the groundball battle 50-36, but they also turned the
ball over 22 times to the Panthers' 15.
The game started on a slightly frightful note for the Ephs, when
senior Marco DeMeirelies went down in the Ephs' defensive
zone after a save by Vrla only 2:09 into the game and had to be
helped off the field. Sophomore Michael Acierno, however, quickly
got the Ephs on track, as he cut by three Middlebury defenders and
faked high on Deane before slinging an underhand shot into the
bottom right of the Panthers' net.
Panther David Hild was able to respond for the Panthers fairly
quickly, scoring with only 10:51 left in the quarter after curling
around the left side of the Williams' net. The 1-1 tie held
the rest of the period, though it was not without action, as the
two goalies were called on to make 11 saves total in the
period.
Williams started the first half with intense pressure on the
Middlebury net, as the Ephs fired 6 shots on goal in the
quarter's first 3:19, when the sixth shot found its way into
the back of the Panthers' net. Cranshaw probed for a way
toward the goal from the back left of the net, but when he was cut
off by two Panther defenders, he was able to find senior Richard
Reuter across the goal mouth on the right side of the crease.
Reuter then wound up fired the ball past Deane into the top right
of net to make the score 2-1.
The teams traded possessions for the next several minutes before
Williams sophomore face off man Corey Jacobs was hit with a
cross-checking penalty with 8:01 to play in the half. Middlebury
was able to take advantage of the man-up opportunity 19 seconds in,
when Hild fed Peter Smith on the crease; Smith caught the ball as
he was losing his balance, and as he fell, he snapped the ball past
Vrla to tie the game at 2-2.
Williams was able to reopen its advantage almost two minutes
later, when Cranshaw cut from the back right of the Middlebury net.
Cranshaw dove and fired at the net – but the shot was turned
away by Dean. However, sophomore Mike Ryan was in the right place
at the right time, as he picked up the rebound in front of the net
and scored with 5:51 to play in the half. The teams looked as
though they would enter the half with the Ephs up one, but
Middlebury was able to score with three seconds left. An Eph
turnover with about 30 seconds left allowed Middlebury to get the
ball in transition, but Jeff Begin caught a pass from Smith and
slung a bounce shot past Vrla with nearly no time on the clock to
tie up the game 3-3 going into the half.
Both teams went scoreless in the third thanks to the heady play of
Vrla and Deane. Both netminders had five saves in the 15 minutes,
though Williams outshot Midd 12-7 for the quarter.
The opening of the fourth saw the Ephs threaten the Panther
defense, particularly when a shot from senior Brian Wrapp rattled
off the crossbar with 12:12 to play in the game. The Panthers took
the lead with 8:15 remaining, when Eric Pfeffer cut from the left
and spun by his Eph defender before propelling the ball from
point-blank range into the top left corner of Vrla's net.
The Ephs refused to fold down the stretch and found two
particularly good opportunities to tie up the game. With 4:55 to
play, sophomore Sam Hargrove fired a shot off of a pass from
Cranshaw, but the ball hit the crossbar for the second time in the
period when Dean nicked the shot on its way toward the net. Then,
with two minutes to play, Acierno quick-sticked a pass from Ryan
that was again turned away by Dean. That would prove the
Ephs' last opportunity of the game; although they forced a
Panther turnover with 40 seconds to play, the team gave the ball
right back to their opponents, and Middlebury ran out the clock to
claim the victory.
Williams will take on Tufts Sunday on the road in the opening
round of the NESCAC playoffs at a time to be announced. The Ephs
fell 10-9 in their first matchup of the season with the Jumbos.
