MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – A 10-2 run between the second and third quarters was enough to send No. 6 ranked Middlebury past the No. 15 ranked Wesleyan men's lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (8-2, 4-2 NESCAC) lose to the Panthers (9-1, 6-1 NESCAC) in what was the first game played between these two sides in Vermont since 2017.
 
After a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes saw the score tied at 5-5, Middlebury rattled off six unanswered goals in an eight-minute span in the second quarter to open a six-goal lead. DJ Dixon '24 and Pat Doherty '23 netted unassisted goals to stem the tide briefly before Middlebury scored a couple of crucial goals late in the stanza as Luke Simpson scored with 17 seconds left before Tom Conley beat the buzzer and scored with just one second remaining to make it 13-7 Middlebury at the break.
 
Two more Panther goals followed to open the third quarter and suddenly it was 15-7 Middlebury before later stretching to an 18-9 lead with 13:33 remaining.
 
Wesleyan found some success in the late stages of the game, scoring four unanswered in a 2:51 minute span. Dixon scored two more in that 4-0 Cardinal run to lower the deficit to 18-13 with 7:53 remaining. The Cardinals then won the ensuing faceoff, but a turnover led to a Cooper DeMallie goal that put the ice on a comeback bid.
 
Middlebury outshot Wesleyan 53-42 and committed just nine turnovers compared to 20 for the Cardinals.
 
Dixon continues to pile up the points as he finished with a game-high six (five goals, one assist) on the day to give him 39 (26 goals, 13 assists) in nine games played this season. He has at least six points in three straight games while he has at least two goals in all but one game played this season.
 
CK Giancola '24 finished with four goals and one assist for five points as he has at least five points in three straight and in five of the last six games. He leads the team with 29 goals this season.
 
Doherty added four points (three goals, one assist) including his second career hat trick (first of the season). Jack Raba '23 dished out three assists while Matt Gill '23 had one goal and two assists.
 
Tyler Campbell '25 went 20-for-33 on faceoffs while he added six ground balls as the Cardinals sported a 22-13 edge in faceoff wins on the day.
 
Wesleyan has a pair of home games next week, starting with a Wednesday night clash against in-state NESCAC foe Trinity at 6 PM from Citrin Field.