MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury won its season opener against Stevens Institute 7-5 at Kohn Field. The game which featured the #5 ranked Panthers against the #8 Ducks was also the coaching debut for Middlebury's Dave Campbell. The Panthers return to action and begin NESCAC play as they host Campbell's former team Conn. College on Saturday afternoon.

Nick Bastis netted his second goal of the game for the Panthers to break open a 2-2 tie late in the first quarter. Middlebury tacked on two more goals, including an impressive 25-yard shot by defenseman James Guay with only 34 seconds remaining in the third quarter, to build a 5-2 advantage.

Trailing by three goals to begin the fourth quarter, Stevens Institute would rally to tie the game at 5-5. At the 10:41 mark Matt Althauser scored his first of his back-to-back goals off a nice feed from Stephen Pascone. Althauser tallied his second rolling to his left as his score cut the Panther lead to 5-4 with 7:58 remaining in the game. Exactly one minute later Matt Keating netted the equalizer as he scored from 10 yards out.

With less than six minutes to go, Middlebury's Tom Petty collected a ground ball and raced in for a shot that got past the Ducks' goalie giving the Panthers a 6-5 advantage with 5:45 remaining. Over the next several minutes, Middlebury controlled the ball. When the Ducks decided to use their goalie to pressure the Panthers, Peter Mellon scored an empty net goal with 42 seconds remaining for the final score 7-5.

Bastis led Middlebury with two goals as six other Panthers scored one each, while the Ducks' Althauser collected two scores.

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MIDDLEBURY, Vt. (March 11, 2007) – Sophomore attack Tom Petty (Phillips Exeter, N.H.) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter as the fifth-ranked Middlebury College men’s lacrosse team opened the 2007 season with a 7-5 victory over eighth-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology on Sunday at Kohn Field in Middlebury, Vt. Petty’s goal erased a late rally by the Ducks, who fell to 2-1 with the loss.

Trailing 5-2 with less than 11 minutes remaining in the game, Stevens began to mount a comeback as senior midfielder Matt Althauser (Bellevue, Wash.) received a pass from senior midfielder Stephen Pascone (Selkirk, N.Y.) and beat senior goalkeeper Alex Palmisano (Southport, Conn.) from the top of the crease. Just under three minutes later, Althauser recorded an unassisted goal to trim the Panthers’ lead to 5-4 with 7:58 to play. The Ducks knotted the score exactly one minute later as sophomore midfielder Matt Keating (Chatham, N.J.) tallied his fourth goal of the season.

On the ensuing faceoff, Middlebury came up with the ball. Freshman attack Pete Smith (Wilton, Conn.) had a scoring chance, but senior goalkeeper Jack Dunderdale (Ridgefield, Conn.) made the save. Stevens was unable to clear its defensive half of the field as Pascone turned the ball over near the midfield stripe. Petty picked up the ground ball and beat Dunderdale with a low shot from the left wing in transition.

Down by one, Stevens won the faceoff and had some chances to tie the score, but senior midfielder Mark Bielicky (Bridgewater, N.J.), Keating and Althauser were unable to find the back of the net. Middlebury regained possession with a little more than four minutes remaining and ran out the clock with an effective stall tactic on offense. The Panthers sealed the victory with an empty net goal by senior midfielder Peter Mellen (Cherry Hill, N.J.) with 42.9 seconds left on the clock. Mellen was open in front of the cage as Dunderdale vacated the net to help try to force a turnover.

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2007-03-11