#18 Middlebury Starts Fast, Blitzes Colby 16-9

The 18th-ranked Middlebury men's lacrosse team raced out to a 6-0 lead with 11:52 expired in Saturday's first quarter on its way to a 16-9 victory at Colby.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The navy and white scored with 11:16 remaining in the initial frame. Brendan Hickey worked into the middle of the Mule defense and fired a skipping shot that found the right panel.

• The Panther attack kept rolling, as Logan White and Ged Gengras tallied goals less than a minute apart for a 3-0 lead at the 7:10 mark.

• Colby tested Middlebury goalie Hayden Kern with consecutive doorstep opportunities spanning seven seconds. The senior dove in front of a shot by Matias Williams and recovered in time to stop a screamer from Jacob Thibodeau with 6:03 left.

• Middlebury added three tallies over a minute before Eli Chilicki and Matthew George closed the quarter with back-to-back goals for a 6-2 score after 15 minutes.

• The Panthers kept manufacturing markers in the second stanza, posting four unanswered to extend the lead to 10-2 with 7:53 remaining. Will Leahy capped the spurt with a shot that sailed into the center of the net.

• A scrum for a loose ball in front of the crease paid off for Colby about six minutes later, as Easton Bello scooped up possession and fired a shot into the right panel while a player up to make it 10-3 heading into halftime.

• Each side scored twice to open the third quarter before a pair of tallies from Delorey and George trimmed the Middlebury lead to five (12-7) at the end of the frame.

• Chilicki cycled around the net and tried to tuck his shot inside the right side with 3:31 expired in the fourth, but the ball ricocheted off the post.

• After a caused turnover by J.D. Farkas, the Panthers cashed in with 4:10 elapsed. Charlie O'Connor sprinted from behind the goaland swung his body to the left, finding the top-left corner to make it 13-7.

• Cooper DeMallie deposited the 14th Middlebury tally 49 ticks later on a bid that deflected off goalie Will Heisler and into the right panel.

• Colby cut the deficit to five (14-9) on a low-angled shot from Chilicki (7:05) and a left-panel find by Ethan Taerstein (6:01).

• The Panthers held strong, using goals by Gengras and Jack Gunning in the final four minutes, for the 16-9 victory.

NOTES

• Kern made 16 saves to surpass Paul Scheufele '80 for the most stops in acareer. Kern is also the first goalie in program history to surpass 800 saves.

• White continued his hot streak, recording a game-high four goals and adding three assists.

• Hickey recorded his first career hat trick.

• Middlebury tallied its 25th victory in the series against Colby.

The Panthers return home next weekend, hosting #17 Amherst on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The program will honor its senior class before the contest.