CARLISLE, Pa. – The fourth-ranked Dickinson men's lacrosse entered the fourth quarter of their NCAA Tournament Third Round game on Sunday afternoon locked at 8-8 with the 11th-ranked Middlebury College. However, the visiting Panthers took advantage of five extra-man opportunities in the final frame to outscore the Red and White 5-1 en route to a 13-9 win in front of an electric Biddle Field.
Things were looking good for the Devils early as
Charlie Baughan,
Sascha Gannon,
Ethan Gess,
James Isaacson and
Skyler Schluter went wide of Hayden Kern's cage. However,
Luke Whalen would best the goalie for a 1-0 lead, but Middlebury answered back with markers by John McCarthy and Will Spehr to grab a 2-1 edge with almost five minutes gone. Off the ensuing faceoff win by
John McKee, the ball worked its way to
Sam Campbell who setup Gannon for the rip (2-2). The home side almost took the lead back through Whalen, but unfortunately rang the crossbar. After a DC giveaway the Cats nabbed the lead thanks to Will Ford, before Will Zink pushed the gap to 4-2 inside the final five minutes. Chances by Campbell and Whalen came up empty late in the frame as the game went to the second.
It took Dickinson just 36-seconds into the frame to pull one back when Baughan hit Whalen for the strike (4-3). A stop by Scarborough on Logan White and turnovers caused by both
Ben Tomick and Schluter resulted in the home side pulling even when Baughan beat Kern off the feed from Tomick with 11:31 left. Back-to-back saves for Scarborough would allow for the home side to reclaim the lead at 5-4. The next five shots belonged to Middlebury with two of them hitting the back of the net to jump back ahead 6-5 with 8:03 gone. Both keepers were called into action over the final four minutes as Kern denied
Owen Porter, while Scarborough had the answer for Russell Thorndike twice to move the game to the break at 6-5.
For the third period in a row it was the hosts that struck first with Isaacson leveling things up, but then two minutes later Henry Tarr forced a turnover leading to a tally for the defender making it 7-6 with four minutes gone. The Devils were held shotless over the next five minutes, while Scarborough made two more saves to give his offense a chance to get back on track. Unfortunately, it would be Drew Dummer who skipped a shot into the cage for a two-goal cushion (8-6). Dickinson then asked a few questions of the Panthers defense as
Mac Childs was stopped by Kern, before
Capp Reynolds tracked down a free ball and got it ahead to Baughan cutting the deficit to 8-7 with 2:28 left. Over the final 90 seconds of the frame Kern denied both
Colin Williams and Gess, but could not get to the offering from Whalen to leave it locked at eight with 15 minutes to play.
Middlebury began the fourth by getting a man-up marker for William Ryan, followed just over a minute later by Zink cashing in on another man-up to extend the lead to 10-8 just over two minutes in. A two-minute full time body check penalty against the Red and White resulted in the Panthers controlling the rock and eventually striking again just after the foul expired making it 11-8. After begin on the defensive for most of the quarter, Dickinson made their first shot of the frame count with Gess setting up Whalen for the finish. Another DC penalty gave the visitors the chance to cash in again thanks to Jackson Hanson, before Patrick Jamin made it 13-9 immediately off a save form Kern on Gannon. The remaining three-and-a-half minutes saw the Panthers defense just lock up the Devils as they held them shotless to secure the 13-9 win.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals – Whalen (4), Baughan (2)
Assists – Six players tied (1)
Groundballs –
Evan Karetsos (5), Reynolds and Scarborough (4)
Faceoff – McKee (6-14), Trucksess (5-11)
Saves – Scarborough (14)
Panther Leaders
Goals – Zink (4)
Assists – Zink (2)
Groundballs – Munroe (8), Kern (6)
Faceoffs – Munroe (14-25)
Saves – Kern (7)
Next on the Turf
Dickinson finishes the season with an outstanding 17-3 record, but will say goodbye to a phenomenal 17 player senior class that has won the last three Centennial Conference titles. Head Coach David Webster and his staff will look to the incoming recruits and a strong returning core to go in search of a four-peat in the Spring of 2025.
To all of RED DEVIL NATION we thank you for your outstanding support and encouragement it is certainly felt on the field and we look forward to having you all back out there with us next spring!
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