HARTFORD, Conn. — The Middlebury College men’s lacrosse team on Saturday defeated host Trinity, 11-10, after rallying from a four-goal deficit in fourth quarter. The Panthers, ranked No. 10 in NCAA Division III, improved to 9-4, 6-2 in NESCAC with their fifth straight win, while the Bantams dropped to 3-9, 1-7 in league play. Middlebury next visits league foe Colby on this coming Saturday.
Middlebury needed its comeback and Tim Giarrusso’s overtime strike even though it outshot the Bantams, 57-34, as Trinity goalie Henry Coote stopped 21 shots. Giarrusso’s goal was his sixth of the game and gave him a team-high 25 this season.
The Panthers’ Jack Rautiola scored the only goal in the first quarter, but the Bantams outscored them by 5-1 in the second period to lead at the half, 5-2. Only Jack Gould’s 20th goal of the season went up on the scoreboard for Middlebury in the second quarter.
Goals by Giarrusso and Gould made it 5-4 early in the third period, but the Bantams scored the next three goals before a late Giarrusso goal made it 8-5 entering the fourth quarter.
Wesleyan made it 9-5 early in the fourth, but Middlebury scored five straight to take the lead. Henry Riehl scored once in the surge, and Giarrusso scored three times, including the tying goal at 4:04. Kyle Soroka gave the Panthers the lead just over a minute later. Trinity’s Michael McQuiston tied the score at 10-10 at 2:17 to force overtime.
Each team had at least one possession in overtime. Giarrusso netted the game winner from in tight on the right side of the crease after taking a feed from Riehl. Middlebury’s Jack DeFrino set up the winning possession with a key ground ball win.
Panther middie John Jackson won 15 of 25 faceoffs and scooped up six ground balls, while goalie Will Ernst made 11 saves. Ryan DeSimone scored three times for the Bantams, and Seth Bird recorded two goals and three assists.