AMHERST — The Middlebury College men’s lacrosse team dropped a pair of recent away games to tough competition.
The Panthers (3-5 overall, 2-3 in NESCAC play) were set to entertain league rival Hamilton on Wednesday, and will host another NESCAC foe, Colby, at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
On this past Saturday undefeated host Amherst pulled away for a 23-12 victory over the Panthers. Middlebury closed to within 12-9 early in the second half, but could not keep pace on the scoreboard despite being outshot by only 50-42. The Mammoths, ranked No. 2 in NCAA Division III, improved to 9-0, 4-0 in league play.
 The Panthers trailed by 5-4 after one period, 12-8 at the half, and 12-9 early in the third quarter on a Chase Goree strike, But the Mammoths closed the game on a 10-4 run.
Goree led Middlebury with four goals and an assist, while eight other Panthers added a goal apiece. Jake Madnick scored once, scooped up 10 ground balls and won 20 of 35 faceoffs. Zeke Emerson caused five turnovers and scooped five ground balls, and goalie Charles Midgley made 10 saves.
Jon Coffey, Matt Solberg and Evan Wolf each scored five times for Amherst, while goalie Chad Simons made 18 saves.
In a March 27 game played in the Syracuse Carrier Dome, Union outscored the Panthers by 8-3 in the second half, including 3-1 in the fourth quarter, to prevail, 14-10. Union improved to 6-1 with the win.
Tyler Forbes led Middlebury with three scores. Frank Cosolito scored twice, and A.J. Kucinski added a goal and an assist. Madnick won 21 of 28 faceoffs and tied a career high with 15 ground balls. Midgley made 13 saves in 48 minutes of action.
Union’s Kerry Lyne led all players with five goals, while Hayden Frey had four tallies and an assist. Goalie Jack Santilli backstopped the win with 10 saves in goal.