MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College men’s lacrosse team took two of three recent home games and stood at 5-6, 3-4 in league play, heading into a 2 p.m. home game on Saturday vs. NESCAC foe Trinity.
On April 3 the Panthers topped visiting Hamilton, 17-14. The Panthers led by 15-7 entering the fourth quarter and held off a late charge by the 3-6 Continentals (1-6 NESCAC).
Chase Goree led Middlebury with four goals, while AJ Kucinski contributed three goals and an assist. Frank Cosolito and Will Brossman added two goals apiece, while Jake Madnick scored once and scooped up 11 ground balls. Eric Jeremiah picked up three ground balls, while goalie Charles Midgley finished with a season-high 19 saves.
Chad Morse scored six times and added an assist for Hamilton, while two Hamilton goalies combined for 14 saves.
On Saturday visiting Colby (5-4, 1-4 NESCAC), outscored the Panthers by 4-2 in the fourth quarter to earn a 14-12 victory.
In the fourth quarter the Panthers took their first lead since 6-5 when Jack Hoelzer converted a long shot on a feed from Kucinski. Colby answered with the next three goals, including a pair of CJ Hassan, to lead by 13-11 with 2:59 remaining.
Middlebury made it 13-12 at 0:56 on Goree’s spinning strike, but Colby won the faceoff and scored on an empty net to seal the win.
Zeke Emerson, Jack Gould and Tyler Forbes each scored twice for the Panthers, while Kucinski recorded a goal and two assists. Madnick won 18 of 29 faceoffs and scooped eight ground balls. Midgley finished with 13 saves.
Colton Michel led Colby with four goals and two assists, while Lane Kadish scored three. Colby goalie C.J. Layton backstopped the win with 18 saves. Middlebury led by 52-45 in shots and 41-29 in ground balls.
On Tuesday Middlebury scored the game’s first 15 goals on its way to a 15-7 win over visiting Springfield (4-8).
Luke Peterson and Marshall Cummings each scored twice for Middlebury, while Forbes had two goals and an assist. Alderik Van der Heyde dished out three helpers, while Goree had a goal and an assist in the win. Jake Madnick dominated the faceoffs, winning 12-15 with a game-high 10 ground balls. Emerson finished with five ground balls and caused two turnovers. Tyler Bass made his first-career start in goal and made seven saves and allowing two goals in over 50 minutes.
Middlebury held a 62-22 shots advantage and forced 30 turnovers.