Using a 5-0 run during the third period to pull away from a 4-4 deadlock at halftime, Wesleyan, tied for 9th nationally in the latest USILA Divisiion III poll, defeated NESCAC rival Connecticut College, 10-5. The Cardinals remained undefeated in NESCAC play (3-0) to keep pace with Middlebury, also unbeaten at 5-0, while winning their fourth game in a row.

Trailing 3-1 after the first period, Wesleyan drew even at 3-3 before the Camels grabbed their final lead of the contest at 0:49 of the second period as freshman Mark Mangano was left all alone in front of the Wesleyan goal and freshman Ryan Hayes hit him perfectly with a pass. He then had a second or two to measure Cardinal keeper junior Mike Borrero before beating him low to the keeper's right. But Wesleyan got it back just before intermission, when junior Spike Malangone grabbed one of his seven ground balls in the contest in the midfield area, whisked a pass into the box to classmate Russ Follansbee who put it home with :04 to go.

Follansbee then opened the scoring in the third period, netting a man-advantage goal at 14:27 on a pass from the right side by senior Grayson Connors. Connors then added a pair of goals in the next seven minutes along with another assist for a four-point game as Wesleyan rattled off five goal in the first eight minutes of the frame for a 9-4 lead after three periods. Connors is one behind team-leader Follansbee in goals this season with 13. When the Cardinals scored at 7:57 of the fourth period on sophomore Jon Killeen's seventh goal of the year, Wesleyan had a six-goal cushion. It was the team's seventh consecutive tally. Hayes scored the final goal of the game for Connecticut College with 6:02 left.

Wesleyan faceoff man senior Bobby Goulding had an outstanding day at his trade by winning 16 of 19 faceoffs, grabbing nine ground himself in the process. Sophomore goalie Mark Moran led Connecticut with eight ground balls and posted 11 saves as Wesleyan outshot its visitor 35-19.

In its last four games, Wesleyan has enjoyed a string of at least seven goals in a row with 11 vs. Tufts (in a 12-4 victory), seven vs. USMMA (during an 8-2 win), 12 vs. Bowdoin (in a 13-5 triumph), as well as the seven today against Connecticut College.

Wesleyan travels to Little Three rival Williams Saturday, April 5 for its next game, while Connecticut College hosts Bates the same day.

Score by Period       1  2  3  4  Tot
-------------------------------------
Connecticut College.  3  1  0  1 -  5
Wesleyan University.  1  3  5  1 - 10

Connecticut College SCORING:
GOALS: Ryan Hayes 1; Mark Mangano 1; Ben Eischen 1; Conor Malangone 1; Steve Dachille 1.
ASSISTS: Craig Audin 1; Ryan Hayes 1; Mark Mangano 1; Jesse Stevenson 1.

Wesleyan University SCORING:
GOALS: Grayson Connors 2; Russ Follansbee 2; Jason Ben-Eliyahu 1; Jon Killeen 1; Dan Latzman 1; Lonny Blumenthal 1; Alex Kaufman 1; Adam Kirk 1.
ASSISTS: Grayson Connors 2; Jason Ben-Eliyahu 1; Lonny Blumenthal 1; Russ Follansbee 1; Jon Killeen 1; Dan Latzman 1; Spike Malangone 1.

2008-04-02