MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury College's Jack Sheehan scored with 1:29 left in the second sudden-victory overtime period and the Panthers escaped with a 14-13 win against the Hamilton College Continentals in a 2023 NESCAC Men's Lacrosse Championship quarterfinal at Middlebury's Alumni Stadium on Saturday afternoon, April 29.
Season Update
- Hamilton (7-8 overall) was the seventh seed for the championship and was trying to advance to the semifinals for the first time.
- The nationally ranked No. 5 Panthers (15-1), who are the second seed in this event, play Williams College in the semifinals at Tufts University on Saturday, May 6 at 3 p.m.
How It Happened
- Justin Pearl '25 had the Continentals' only shot on goal in overtime with about 90 seconds remaining in the first extra session when Hayden Kern made the save and kept Middlebury's conference title hopes alive.
- The Panthers took a 30-second penalty for offsides with 44 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, and Tim Sommer '23 drew Hamilton even on a pass from Rowan Brumbaugh '23 just as the penalty was expiring with 12.4 seconds left.
- The Continentals' Reece Hickey '26 won the ensuing faceoff. Cash Wiley '26 picked up the loose ball and fired a shot that Kern stopped just before the horn sounded that ended regulation.
- The tie score was the third of the game, but Hamilton never led.
- Brumbaugh found Charlie Ratner '23 for a goal and a 1-1 deadlock with 9:40 remaining in the first period.
- Middlebury scored the next four goals and led 5-2 after the opening 15 minutes.
- Will Zink scored twice just 13 seconds apart early in the second quarter and the Panthers had their largest lead of five goals at 7-2.
- Middlebury held a 7-4 advantage at the break and a 10-7 cushion after three quarters.
- The Continentals scored three consecutive goals midway through the fourth, and Christian Byrne '24 tied the score at 11-11 on an assist by Torben Wunderle '23 with 6:50 to go.
Notes
- Jack Fried '25 stopped 22 shots, including seven in the first quarter, for Hamilton. Fried finished the season second in the NESCAC with a .578 save percentage.
- Wunderle tied career highs with eight points and four assists and added four goals. His 42 goals and 72 points are the most in a season by a Continental since all-American Matt Silverio '03 had 72 and 94 in 2003.
- Thomas Healy '26 chipped in three goals and an assist and is 14th in the conference with 35 goals.
- Pearl contributed two goals, an assist and five ground balls.
- Brumbaugh registered a goal and three assists and is tied for fifth in the NESCAC with 33 helpers.
- Sommer and Ratner recorded a goal and an assist apiece. Sommer has seven points in the last three games, and Ratner posted his third multi-point game this season.
- Byrne scored a goal for the fifth straight game.
- Jayme Wilde '25 scooped up seven ground balls and caused four turnovers. Wilde is second in the conference with 39 caused turnovers.
- Hickey won 17 of 29 faceoffs and picked up a season-high 12 ground balls.
- Hamilton entered the weekend third in NCAA Division III in man-up offense at 54.5 percent (24-for-44). The Continentals scored a goal on five extra-man opportunities against the Panthers.
- Billy Curtis led Middlebury's offense with seven points on two goals and five assists.
- Russell Thorndike scored four goals and added an assist, and Patrick Jamin had four assists.
- Luke Simpson led the defense with six ground balls and six caused turnovers.
- William Munroe won 15 faceoffs and collected 10 ground balls.
- Kern made 10 of his 13 saves in the second half.
- The Panthers dominated the first quarter with an 18-4 shot advantage and helped force nine Hamilton turnovers. The Continentals had two successful clears out of eight attempts.
