MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Ryan Johnson, in the final regular season game of his career, scored a driving goal with under six seconds to go to give the Williams College men's lacrosse team a huge comeback victory, 8-7, on the road against the Middlebury Panthers. Down two goals entering the fourth, the Ephs clawed back to a tie with just over a minute to go before the thrilling finish.
With the victory, the Ephs finish the regular season with a 7-8 record and a 3-7 record in the NESCAC. Middlebury drops to 8-6 and 5-5 in the NESCAC with the loss.
The two teams started with a bunch of defense. Neither side broke through until the Panthers scored right at the end of the first period to take a 1-0 lead.
In the second, the Ephs equalized with a bouncing finish from Jack Sartorius. After a Middlebury answer, Tucker Graham finished a driving finish top right to make it 2-2 with 3:37 to go in the half. After two Panthers goals, Will Doran ended the first half with a last-second, acrobatic finish, to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Neither team scored through the first half of the third period before Doran got on the board again, this time with another low wraparound finish, to make it 4-4 with 7:23 to play. The Panthers then picked up two goals to take a 6-4 lead into the fourth period.
In the fourth, the Ephs battled. Drew Nicholson finished a goal just under two minutes in to make the score 6-5. The Panthers then re-upped the advantage to 7-5 with over ten minutes left. Under a minute later, Doran fired home a one-timer on a nice pass from Ralph Vogel, making the score 7-6. After eight tight, scoreless minutes, the Ephs were able to tie the game up. Again, Doran finished, coming around from behind the net again. With 1:18 to play, it was 7-7.
In the ensuing face-off, the Ephs gained possession. Ryan Johnson took control with a minute to go and wandered to half-court, to burn the clock for a final shot attempt. With just over ten seconds to play, he sprinted upfield and to his right, away from multiple defenders, and fired a long distance shot into the top left corner with 5.6 seconds to play.
Middlebury's desperation shot attempt after the next face-off was saved by Charlie Medd – who had 16 saves in the win – and the Ephs took a shocking victory to conclude the season.
For the Ephs, Doran led the way with four goals and one assist, while four players had one goal apiece. Williams will face the winner of Wednesday evening's Bowdoin / Tufts game in Medford, where the victorious team will take the top seed and host the 8-seeded Ephs in the NESCAC tournament on Saturday.Â
