Box Score Box Score

TROY, N.Y. – Behind a six-point performance from junior David Hild, the Middlebury College men's lacrosse team powered its way to a 16-8 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at East Campus Stadium. The #13 Panthers improve to 13-5 on the season and will travel to #6 Tufts next Wednesday in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The #12 Engineers wrap-up their outstanding season with a 14-3 record.

Hild (West Hartford, CT/Kingswood-Oxford) helped the Panthers open up an early advantage in the first quarter, scoring a pair of goals to give the visitors a 3-1 lead at the 4:30 mark. Junior Nick Billy (Redding, CT/Joel Barlow) cut the deficit to one (3-2) after 15 minutes of play, but Middlebury came out firing in the second stanza, scoring three straight goals to open the quarter.

Down 6-2 with nine minutes left, RPI sophomore Andrew Liptak (Westfield, MA/Westfield) made it a three-goal game (6-3), but the Panthers continued to push back in the offensive zone as Hild and classmate Andrew Conner (Alexandria, VA/St. Stephen's & St. Agnes) each scored to make it an 8-3 advantage with 6:42 remaining.

The Engineers would get another one back on a shot by sophomore Paul DiLandro (East Quogue, NY/Westhampton Beach), but Middlebury answered with 22 seconds left in the first half as sophomore Tim Cahill (Glastonbury, CT/Loomis Chaffee) recorded the first of his three goals on the game to make it a 9-4 lead at the intermission.

Middlebury continued to pressure in the RPI zone to open the third quarter and capitalized at the 13:42 mark as Conner scored for a six-goal lead (10-4). Engineers' freshman Wes Rudy (Doylestown, PA/The Hill School) scored to close the gap, but the Panthers responded over the next four minutes with three straight goals for a 13-5 advantage.

Facing a 14-6 deficit after three quarters, Rensselaer senior Paul Cerone (Ridgefield, CT/Ridgefield) closed the gap just 38 seconds into the final stanza to make it 14-7, but Middlebury's Cahill found a rhythm seconds later scoring the first of two straight goals. Billy answered at 4:33 with his second of the game, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers' defense stayed solid in the closing minutes.

In addition to Hild, who had five goals and an assist, Middlebury saw Cahill tally three goals, while Conner added two goals and two assists. Senior Russell Banker (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) scored a pair and assisted on another, while classmate Pete Smith (Wilton, CT/Wilton) had a goal and two assists.

Between the pipes, junior Ryan Deane (Grosse Pointe, MI/Univ. Liggett School) made 11 saves for the victory, before giving way to classmate Charles Ward (Alexandria, VA/T.C. Williams), who made one stop in the final 3:34 of the game.

For Rensselaer, Billy finished with a team-best two goals and added an assist, while Cerone had a goal and an assist. Five other players tallied goals for the Engineers, which saw freshman netminder James Manchester (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) shoulder the loss with 13 stops.