Coming into this past Saturday’s game against Bates, the Wesleyan men’s lacrosse team was ranked 20th in Division III, but had only won four of seven games. The less-than-stellar start to the season for the defending NESCAC champs looked to continue, as Bates led 5-3 with eight minutes left, and 6-4 with under four to go. However, that was when the Cardinals finally showed why they were ranked 11th in the Division III preseason poll, scoring three unanswered goals in the final three minutes to beat the Bobcats, 7-6.
Although the game was tied 3-3 going into the fourth quarter, Bates scored two quick goals to take the 5-3 lead. Undaunted, D.J. Bernatavitz ’12 closed the gap to 5-4 with his goal at the 6:42 mark, although the Bobcats pushed the lead back to two with a goal with 3:29 left. Again, the Cardinals were unfazed, needing only 34 seconds to win the faceoff and score, a high shot by attacker Graham Gnall ’11. Fortunately for Wes, the Bobcats were given just their third penalty of the game with 79 seconds to go, and the Cardinals were able to capitalize on the mistake, with Lonny Blumenthal ’10 scoring an extra-man goal with just 50 seconds left. Immediately, specialist Matt Ward ’10 won his 13th faceoff of the game (he finished 14 for 17), and the Cardinals went on the attack. But things looked grim as they were unable to control the ball, losing it to the Bates goalkeeper.
The final goal was also the most timely. Teddy Citrin ’12 capitalized on a mistake by the Bates keeper, who dropped the ball in front of his own net, allowing Citrin to pick up the loose ball and fire it home with just 3.9 seconds left.
The goal was the third of the game for Citrin, and the 14th of the season for the sophomore midfielder. Wesleyan goalkeeper Mark Simmons ’13 also stood out as he got the first start of his career, racking up 14 saves and recording a .700 save percentage.
Wesleyan has now beaten Bates four straight times and has won 20 of the 29 games in the all-time series between the schools. The Cardinals improved their 2010 record to 5-3 and got their first NESCAC win, boosting their conference record to 1-2. Wesleyan is one of five teams tied for fifth in the NESCAC standings at 1-2, along with Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, and Trinity.
Next up for the Cards is NESCAC foe Tufts, who will be in Middletown this Saturday for a rematch of last season’s NESCAC title game, won by Wesleyan 14-10. A win would be the Cardinals’ seventh in their last nine games against the Jumbos and would even the team’s NESCAC record as the team looks to duplicate last season’s success.
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