MIDDLEBURY — Ninth-ranked Middlebury College men’s lacrosse used a four-goal burst to break an early 2-2 tie en route to a 13-9 finish over Trinity on Youngman Field at Alumni Stadium on Saturday. The Panthers’ win secures a home NESCAC quarterfinal game against a yet-to-be-determined opponent on Saturday.
Middlebury junior Jon Broome broke a 1-1 tie scoring on a rare three extra-man possession at 8:02 of the first quarter off a Joel Blockowicz assist. Trinity’s James O’Connell followed with the 2-2 equalizer, before the Panthers went on their four-goal run.
Junior Kyle Soroka assisted on the first two goals of the run, including a cross-field assist to junior Jack Rautiola at 9:38 of the second quarter. Rautiola scored the next Panther goal as he collected a crease-feeding pass from freshman Henry Riehl at 8:24. Riehl capped the run with his second of his game-best three assists on a 30-yard pass to junior Sean Carroll as Middlebury took a 6-2 lead into halftime.
The teams each exchanged two goals in the third quarter, giving the Panthers an 8-4 lead to start the fourth. After a Trinity goal, Middlebury followed with a three-goal spurt, giving the hosts an 11-5 cushion. Trinity countered with a pair of goals over the next two minutes, then the teams finished the game exchanging two goals apiece for the 13-9 final as Rautiola netted his hat trick.
Rautiola’s three goals and Soroka’s goal and two assists matched the three assists by Riehl to pace the Panthers. Sophomore goalie Will Ernst earned the win in net, making 13 saves. Bantam Mickey Zaverucha collected the same number of saves.
The Panthers were due to play at Williams on Wednesday and will host a NESCAC quarterfinal game on Saturday at a time to be announced.