Men's Lacrosse Upset Bid Falls Short, 11-9, In NCAA Tournament
Boxscore
MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Despite a game-high four goals from junior attackman
Paul Purdy (Brewster, N.Y.), Springfield College fell at three-time defending national champion Middlebury, 11-9, in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament this afternoon in Vermont.
Middlebury took a 3-0 lead in the game's first 5:26, only to have
Springfield score a pair in 17 seconds to cut the lead to 3-2 at the 8:38
mark of the first quarter. Charley Howe answered for the Panthers before
Purdy scored a pair to tied the game at four after one quarter of play.
A man-up goal from Mike Saraceni and a tally from Christopher Davis gave
Middlebury an 6-4 before junior defenseman
Sean Harrington (Suffern, N.Y.) scored with 1:52 left in the half to cut the lead to one.
Springfield scored the first two goals of the second half in 1:39, as sophomore attackman
Dan
Blinn's (Longmeadow, Mass.) shot gave the Pride its first lead of the game at 7-6.
Middlebury tied the game before long-stick middie Tom O'Connor regained the lead for
the Panthers at 8-7 with 4:09 left in the third quarter.
Freshman attackman
Taylor Brown (Portsmouth, R.I.) scored a man-down goal late in the quarter to tie the game at eight heading into the final session.
Just 48 seconds into the quarter, Greg
Bastis scored with a rocket from the outside to give Middlebury a one-goal
lead.
There would be no goals for the next 7:31, until Andrew Giordano gave Middlebury a two-goal lead with 6:41 left to play.
Sophomore midfielder
Derek
Pedrick (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) cut the lead to one as he scored after picking up a ground ball in
the crease area.
Ben Tobey gave Middlebury some breathing room with 2:24
remaining as he found the back of the net after he circled the crease and
buried the shot.
Sophomore goaltender
P.J. Rovinelli (Framingham, Mass.) made 18 stops for the Pride, which finishes the season, 11-5.
Team Links
Head Coach Keith Bugbee
Keith Bugbee enters his 31st season as head men's lacrosse coach at Springfield College in 2014. Under his direction, the Pride is one of the top programs in the country. Bugbee's coaching record stands at an impressive 327-157 (.676 winning percentage).
Read more.
Contact Head Coach Keith Bugbee
E-Mail | Phone: 413.748.3154
