Thrilling Regular Season Finish Gives Middlebury Top Seed, First Round Bye

HADLEY, Mass. - Spurred by a 9-8 victory at Bates on Saturday, Middlebury College, the five-time defending NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Champions, has earned the top seed and a first round bye in the 2006 NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship. First round action for the seven-team tournament kicks off on Sunday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m. The semifinals will take place on Saturday, May 6, followed on Sunday, May 7, with the championship in Middlebury, Vt.

Middlebury (10-3, 8-1 NESCAC) earned the number-one seed on the final day of the regular season after a thrilling come-from-behind victory at Bates on Saturday afternoon. Down 8-4 in the fourth quarter, the Panthers scored five unanswered goals to overcome the Bobcats 9-8 and claim the top spot in the NESCAC standings outright. Since the inception of tournament play in 2001, the Panthers have hosted the tournament each year, winning the five previous NESCAC crowns.

Second-seeded Wesleyan (12-2, 7-2 NESCAC) finished tied in the standings with Bowdoin, however the Cardinals earned the head-to-head advantage with a 6-3 win over the Polar Bears on April 8. Wesleyan, which has made an appearance in the championship game in each of the last two years, has earned the number-two seed in the tournament only once before, coming during the inaugural NESCAC championship in 2001. The Cardinals will have a chance for revenge on Sunday when they face the seventh-seeded Ephs of Williams (6-7, 3-6 NESCAC). Williams is one of only two teams to hand a loss to Wesleyan this season, edging the Cardinals 11-10 on April 22 in Williamstown, Mass. The 11 goals allowed by Wesleyan during that match are the most so far this season by one of the nation’s top defenses. Amazingly, these NESCAC rivals have never met in tournament competition.

Third-seeded Bowdoin (10-4, 7-2 NESCAC) enters its first round contest riding a four-game winning streak after the Polar Bears closed out the regular season with a 10-6 victory at Trinity on Saturday. Bowdoin will host another team that is peaking at the right time, sixth-seeded Amherst (4-9, 3-6 NESCAC). Things looked grim for the Jeffs just over a week ago, however an 8-7 win over Connecticut College on April 25 not only kept Amherst’s playoff hopes alive but also set up a key matchup on Saturday against NESCAC rival Williams. The Jeffs came up with another big win, defeating the Ephs 13-11 and putting the Jeffs into the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. While Amherst finished in a three-way tie for sixth with Connecticut College and Williams, the two victories over the past seven days gave the Jeffs the head-to-head advantage. Bowdoin won the lone meeting between the Polar Bears and Jeffs earlier this season, 15-9 in Brunswick on April 22, however the lone meeting between the two clubs in the NESCAC tournament went Amherst’s way on May 2, 2004, 6-5.

Although fourth-seeded Tufts (10-5, 5-4 NESCAC) ended the regular season tied with fifth-seeded Bates (9-4, 5-4 NESCAC), the Jumbos came away in front of the Bobcats in the standings thanks to an 8-7 double-overtime victory over Bates in Lewiston, Maine, on April 22. While Tufts had a rocky start to the month of April, winning only two games over a five-game stretch, the Jumbos have rebounded to win three of their last four, the lone loss a 4-3 setback to Wesleyan on April 26. Bates will attempt to regroup on Sunday at Tufts after Saturday’s heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Middlebury. The Bobcats got off to an impressive start this season by winning their first nine games before stumbling in their last four. Bates pulled off a big win in the first round last year, upsetting second-seed and NESCAC rival Bowdoin 6-5 in overtime to advance to the semifinals for the first time ever. These two teams have never met in the NESCAC tournament.

2006 NESCAC MEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
First Round - Sunday, April 30 at Higher Seeds
No. 7 Williams at No. 2 Wesleyan - 1:00 p.m.
No. 6 Amherst at No. 3 Bowdoin - 1:00 p.m.
No. 5 Bates at No. 4 Tufts - 1:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, May 6 at Middlebury
No. 1 Middlebury vs. lowest remaining seed
Remaining first round winners

Championship - Sunday, May 7 at Middlebury
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.