The men’s lacrosse team ended decades of frustration against Middlebury on Saturday, beating the Panthers 10-7 in an inspired road effort. The win ended Wesleyan’s 16-game losing streak against Middlebury and ran the Cardinals’ record to an impressive 6-1.
A few young faces paced the squad. Russell Follansbee ’09 netted a hat-trick for the second consecutive game and added an assist, while Jason Ben-Eliyahu ’09 and Grayson Connors ’08 had two goals apiece. Connors now leads the team with 15 goals this season, with Follansbee and Ben-Eliyahu close behind with 12 goals each.
“As a veteran of the Wesleyan men’s lacrosse team, I’ve never seen freshmen and underclassmen make this much of a contribution in a game of this magnitude,” said Jesse Bardo ’07. “They played above their class and really looked like
veterans themselves.”
Mike Hines ’06 got the Cards on the board midway through the first quarter with his eighth goal of the year. The teams then traded scores until Ben-Eliyahu put Wesleyan ahead 5-4 at the half.
Middlebury came out of the locker room with a fire in their bellies, regaining the lead early in the third quarter, but Wesleyan’s youngsters did not panic. Follansbee evened the score and a goal by Connors pulled the Cardinals back in front in the waning seconds of the third. The Panthers tied the score at 7-7 with 9:40 remaining in the fourth period, but Alex Kaufman ’08 quickly responded with the game winner less than a minute later. The Cards then pulled away for good with two goals from Follansbee.
“No one can stop the three ninjas on the Wes attack,” Connors said. “Don’t even try. Comb your beard.”
Charlie Congleton ’07, who leads the NESCAC in save percentage at .712, made 19 saves on the day. Seven of those came in the third quarter, which saw the Cardinal defense withstand heavy pressure.
“We just wanted that win so badly that we needed to outwork those guys all over the field,” said Mike Vitulano ’06. “Our defense locked it up in zone and when we got our chances to score we buried the biscuit.”
The Cards have made the most of their scoring opportunities all season, notching double-digit goals in all but two games this year. The team got off to a fast start, winning its first four contests, including a 13-5 drubbing of Western New England College on Mar. 22 and an 8-7 win in double overtime against a feisty Clarkson University squad. The offense also exploded against Western Connecticut State on Mar. 27, with eleven players scoring in the 18-7 win.
The team’s only defeat came in their first NESCAC game, losing 8-4 to Bates. Any fears that this year’s squad could mirror last year’s edition (a team that lost its first four NESCAC games) were quickly dispelled when Wesleyan handed Middlebury its first NESCAC home loss in the last 11 seasons.
That upset also suggested a power shift atop the NESCAC standings. With the strong play of Wesleyan’s underclassmen, the Cardinals appear poised to take a more permanent command of the NESCAC. A win in the upcoming game against Bowdoin, which is undefeated in NESCAC play, would catapult the Cards towards the top of the NESCAC standings.
First Wesleyan will look to avenge last year’s loss to Connecticut College on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The team takes on Bowdoin on Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games are at home where the Cards are 2-0 this year.
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