MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Despite getting off to a strong start, the Connecticut College men's lacrosse team suffered a 9-7 setback in its NESCAC opener against Middlebury College on Saturday afternoon at Youngman Field.
The Camels built a 5-1 lead by the 10:51 mark of the second quarter but couldn't hold on. The Panthers scored the final three goals of the half to cut the deficit to one, and then outscored Conn 4-0 in the third quarter to seize control.
Liam Horkan (Malden, Mass.) and
Harrison Zmijewski (San Jose, Calif.) netted two goals apiece to lead the Camels while
Graydon Diamond (New Canaan, Conn.) chipped in a goal and an assist.
Patrick Hogan (Wyckoff, N.J.) made a season-high 12 stops in goal, and
Ardem Sarajian (Ridgewood, N.J.) scooped up a team-high six ground balls and went 6-for-11 at the face-off spot.
Conn scored three goals in the final 6:19 of the opening quarter to lead 3-1 after one.
Matthew Sofarelli (Jupiter, Fla.) fed Horkan from behind the cage for the game's first tally, and minutes later Diamond connected with Zmijewski to make it 2-0. After the Panthers got on the scoreboard with just over a minute left to play in the period,
Andrew Rainville (Watertown, Conn.) found the back of the cage with 15 seconds to go for the two-goal advantage.
In the second quarter, Sofarelli and Horkan hooked up again for another tally, and an unassisted effort by Zmijewski made it 5-1 with 10:51 remaining in the half. However, Middlebury scored three goals in the final 9:04 of the stanza to cut the deficit to one by intermission.
The Panthers carried the momentum into the second half, tying the score in the opening minutes before taking their first lead on a marker by Brendan Hickey. Two more goals extended Middlebury's lead to 8-5 by the start of the fourth quarter, and goals by
Hugh Gates (Mill Valley, Calif.) and Diamond in the final 15 minutes weren't enough to close the gap.
Nick Marvin and James Farinacci paced Middlebury (2-1 overall, 1-1 NESCAC) with two goals each. Goalie Hayden Kern turned away 15 shots to secure the win.
Conn (2-1 overall, 0-1 NESCAC) will next play at Salve Regina University on Monday, March 9 at 5:00 p.m.
