Despite a stumble out of the gate with a 4-3 loss to nationally-ranked Bowdoin, the men’s lacrosse team roared to a 6-1 record after six straight wins, and are currently ranked 12th in the latest USILA Division III poll.
The streak includes a win against NESCAC powerhouse Middlebury, ranked fourth nationally at the time, which the Cardinals beat in an 8-7 thriller. Russ Follansbee ’09 scored three goals in the first half, assisted on another in the third period, and lead the Cardinals in a game in which they never trailed and led by as many as three goals. After Wes took a lead at 8-5 on a sidearm shot by Dan Latzman ’09, with 14:01 to go, Middlebury scored two straight goals, including one with 1:52 left, to cut the deficit to 8-7. The Cardinals, however, were able to hold off the Panthers for the important NESCAC victory, their fourth win of their last seven meetings with Middlebury.
Jason Ben-Eliyahu ’09 also contributed to the win, scoring a pair of goals. Wesleyan dominated most of the team statistical categories. Faceoff specialist Matt Ward ’10 won 12 of his 19 faceoffs and Wes collected 21 more ground balls than Middlebury, led by Gabe Kelley ’11, who had six. Cardinal goalie Mike Borrero ’09 made 16 saves in the win, improving his save percentage to .686 and his goals-against average on the season to a respectable 4.89.
Last Saturday, Wes took on Bates, another NESCAC rival. As they did in the Middlebury game, the Cards never trailed on the way to their fifth straight win. A 5-2 run at the start of the second period put Wes in the driver’s seat with a 7-2 lead, and, although Bates challenged late, getting as close as one goal on two different occasions, the Cards finally put away the Bobcats with three goals in the fourth period. Kelley again had a great day on the defensive end to go along with a game-high seven ground balls, bringing his total up to 32 this year. Ward, who averages a 63.5 win percentage on faceoffs, had his sixth straight game of winning at least half. After Bates trimmed the lead to 8-7 near the beginning of the fourth, goalkeeper Colin Campbell ’10 came into the game, giving up only one goal and saving three more. His defensive spark helped the Cardinals on their 3-1 run, with goals by Latzman, Conor Malangone ’11, and Kelley, which put the game away.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals had an easy win at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, in which they never trailed, jumping out to an early 3-0 lead and winning 11-6. Borrero had 10 saves, and both Follansbee and Jon Killeen ’10 had four points, with two goals and two assists each. Even defenseman Spike Malangone ’09 moved into the offense, scoring a goal and tallying an assist for an unusual two-point game. Ward excelled at faceoffs yet again, winning 13 of 19.
Wesleyan will play another key NESCAC game on Saturday at ninth-ranked Tufts, which is off to a 6-0 start. Tufts was the only NESCAC school to defeat Wesleyan in 2007, when the Cardinals finished 8-1 in NESCAC play, but the Cardinals currently hold the upper hand, having taken down the Jumbos in Medford in 2008, 12-4.
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