Seven-Time Champion Middlebury Claims Top Seed

HADLEY, Mass. – Seven-time NESCAC champion Middlebury College has garnered the top seed in the 2009 NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Championship. The Panthers are one of four teams that will host a quarterfinal contest this Sunday, April 26, joining Bowdoin, Tufts and Wesleyan in first round action at home, as the championship format has changed for 2009 from a seven-team field with the top seed earning a first round bye to an eight-team tournament. The highest remaining seed after the quarterfinals will earn the right to host the semifinals and championship on Saturday-Sunday, May 2-3.

Middlebury (12-1, 8-1 NESCAC) knew well before the final game of the regular season which team it would be facing in the quarterfinals. The Panthers locked up the top seed in this year’s playoffs last Saturday with a 12-11 victory at Trinity, and a Bowdoin win against Bates on Tuesday night guaranteed Amherst (6-7, 3-6 NESCAC) the eighth seed and a first round date at Middlebury. The Lord Jeffs snapped a four-game skid in conference play on Friday afternoon with an 11-10 decision over Trinity. The Panthers, meanwhile, earned a 13-11 come-from-behind victory against Williams during Friday’s finale, as a eight-goal third quarter brought Middlebury back from a 6-2 halftime deficit and tied the contest at 10-all heading into the final frame. Winners of 11-straight, Middlebury took its final five conference contests by two goals or less - including a 13-11 win at Amherst on April 1 in the lone meeting of the 2009 campaign. These two teams have faced each other three times in tournament history, with all three encounters occurring in the semifinals between 2002-04. The Panthers, who collected seven consecutive NESCAC crowns from 2001 through 2007, won all three contests. The Lord Jeffs have not reached the semifinals since 2005.

The battle for the second spot in the standings came down to the last game of the season. When the final whistle blew Friday night, Bowdoin, Tufts and Wesleyan were all tied for second with identical 6-3 conference marks, however the Polar Bears emerged from the pack thanks to victories over both teams this year. Bowdoin (9-5, 6-3 NESCAC) pulled out of a late-season, four-game tailspin at the right time, posting victories at Bates on Tuesday, 15-7, and at home against Tufts on Friday evening, 11-7. The second-seeded Polar Bears will host a first round contest for the fourth time in the last five years when they take on the seventh-seeded Bantams of Trinity (10-5, 4-5 NESCAC) on Sunday. Trinity finished the season tied with Colby in the conference standings but the Bantams were relegated to seventh due to an 11-8 setback to the Mules on March 21 in Waterville, Maine. After the loss at Colby, Trinity put together a 6-1 run before stumbling in its final two contests, the aforementioned losses to Middlebury and at Amherst. Sunday’s game will be the first-ever between the two squads in championship play. The Polar Bears hope to take an initial step towards reaching the title tilt for the second-straight spring, while the Bantams have never advanced to the semifinals in their four previous tournament appearances. Bowdoin won the 2009 regular season match 10-7 against Trinity on March 14 in Hartford, Conn.

Although third-seeded Tufts (11-3, 6-3 NESCAC) missed out on the second seed because of Friday’s loss at Bowdoin, the Jumbos knew heading into the final week of play that they would be at home in the quarterfinals and claimed the third spot thanks to a win over Wesleyan on March 28, 12-10. Tufts got off to a red-hot start this season, going 8-0 during the month of March and sitting atop the NESCAC standings. April was not as kind to the Jumbos though, as they scratched out a 3-3 mark down the stretch. Facing Tufts in the first round will be a sixth-seeded Colby (8-6, 4-5 NESCAC) squad that is making only its second appearance in tournament history since a run to the championship game in 2002. Like the Jumbos, the Mules also had their struggles in April, going 3-3 over their final six including a 9-8 loss to Bates during the regular season finale, a game in which Colby held an 8-4 advantage at halftime. The only clash between Tufts and Colby this year went the way of the Jumbos on March 14, 14-9 in Medford, Mass., and these two squads have never faced each other in tournament play.

Fourth seed Wesleyan (11-3, 6-3 NESCAC) came away as a 10-5 winner over Connecticut College on Friday afternoon, the Cardinals' fifth win in their last six outings. The lone setback, however, came at the hands of Wesleyan’s quarterfinal opponent, fifth seed and defending NESCAC Men’s Lacrosse Champion Williams (7-6, 5-4 NESCAC), less than one week ago as the Ephs dealt the Cardinals a 9-5 loss last Saturday. Williams had a rocky 1-5 start to the season yet managed to turn things around once the calendar hit April with a 6-0 record before falling at Middlebury on Friday, 13-11. During last year’s tournament, the Ephs put together a magical run as the sixth seed to win their first NESCAC title. While Williams claimed the sole meeting of 2009 between the two teams, history appears to favor Wesleyan in championship play. The Cardinals are 2-0 all-time against the Ephs in the conference tournament, including the only shutout in playoffs history with an 8-0 win against Williams in the 2007 semifinals. Wesleyan has also advanced out of the first round in seven of the previous eight championships, a figure that includes the past six tournaments.

2009 NESCAC MEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Sunday, April 26 at Higher Seeds
No. 8 Amherst at No. 1 Middlebury - 1:00 p.m.
No. 7 Trinity at No. 2 Bowdoin - 1:00 p.m.
No. 6 Colby at No. 3 Tufts - 3:00 p.m.
No. 5 Williams at No. 4 Wesleyan - 1:00 p.m.

Semifinals - Saturday, May 2 at Highest Remaining Seed
Highest remaining seed vs. Lowest remaining seed - 12:00 p.m.
Remaining first round winners - 3:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, May 3
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.