Courtesy Wesleyan Sports Information

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Scoring eight unanswered goals over the final 27 minutes of the contest, Wesleyan erased all traces of a 7-2 deficit and went on to capture a 10-7 victory at Springfield in its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The triumph advances the Cardinals to the quarter-finals and another meeting with NESCAC champion Middlebury on the road Wed., May 18.

Down by five goals with 13:03 left in the third period, the Cardinals got goals from senior Chris Knacke, junior Mike Vitulano and junior Jordan Funt in a span of 6:32 to narrow the margin to 7-5 at the end of the third stanza. When Knacke scored again on a fast break set up by sophomore long-pole middie Pete Harris with 12:54 to go and first-year Alex Kaufman used a strong individual effort to push past a defender on the right side and score the tying goal with 11:35 to play, it was a brand new ballgame.

Junior middie Glenn Adams, recently named first-team all-NESCAC for the second year in a row, made a move in front and took a feed from Funt with 4:24 on the clock for the go-ahead goal. He made it a five-point game by scoring his second goal, to go with his three assists, on a one-hopper from midfield with the goalie out of the net at the 1:46 mark. Twenty-four seconds later, junior Jeff McLaren scored his first goal of the season into a wide-open net with Knacke getting the assist. Knacke, with two goals and two assists vs. Springfield, was a second-team all-NESCAC pick this season along with sophomore goalie Charlie Congleton, who made 10 saves in the contest, and senior defender Paul Malangone.

Wesleyan will face Middlebury for the third time this season when the teams meet on Wed. as Middlebury took a 15-7 decision during the regular season and a 9-5 win in the NESCAC title game May 8.