Waterville, Maine- The Middlebury College Panthers (9-1) scored three critical goals in the last period to pull away from the Colby College Mules (6-3) in a NESCAC showdown today at Seaverns Field.

Middlebury got on the board first as Greg Carroll '02 (Topsfield, MA) cut across the middle and fired a shot past the Colby defenders. Shortly after Matt Dunn '02 (Kent, CT) gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead powering between two Mule defenders and beating the Colby goalie with a low shot. Carroll then found a wide open Mike Saraceni '04 (N. Syracuse, NY) from behind the net who was able to score easily. After a Baron Butler '03 (Marblehead, MA) goal put the Mules on the board, Eric Siedel '05 (Durham, NH) found John Cleaver '04 (Kennet Square, PA) on the wing who was able to get the ball in the net cutting Middlebury's lead to one.

At the beginning of the second period, Carroll was able to pick up a loose ball in front of the Colby net and ring up an unassisted goal. The Mules wouldnąt be denied when Nick Owens '04 (Cape Elizabeth, ME) passed to Butler in front of the goal who was able to land a shot top shelf past Middlebury goaltender Eric Krieger '04 (Princeton, NJ). Dunn brought Middlebury back when his shot was knocked down by Colby goalie John Shea '02 (Mountain Lakes, NJ) which then trickled behind him and over the goal line. Zach Herbert '02 (Cape Elizabeth, ME) added one more goal for the Panthers at the close of the period giving Middlebury a 6-3 lead at the half.

Colby started the third period scoring two quick goals from Chris Larson '02 (Darien, CT) and Butler. Middlebury answered when Herbert scored his second goal of the game after picking up a loose ball. With under three minutes in the period Larson again came up big as he took a pass from Bill Spencer '02 (Sudbury, MA) and scored on a circus shot as he took a gigantic hit from two Panther defenders. This brought the crowd to their feet and the Mules within one goal entering the final period.

Avoiding Colby's come from behind attack, Middlebury was able to score three consecutive goals, the first coming again from Herbert. Herbert then assisted Jamie Duke ą05 (Englewood, CO) as he added the second goal with ten minutes to play and Carroll scored his third goal of the game with 3:45 left in the game. Colby put up a last minute fight when Cleaver fired a shot past Krieger but it was too little too late for the Mules.

GOALS: Middlebury: Carrol (3), Herbert (3), Dunn (2), Saraceni, Duke Colby: Butler (3), Larson (2), Cleaver (2)

ASSISTS: Middlebury: Carrol (2), Duke, Herbert, Dunn Colby: Grosch, Spencer, Cleaver, Siedel, Owens

GROUNDBALLS: Middlebury: 51 Colby: 37

FACEOFFS: Middlebury: 11 Colby: 10

SHOTS: Middlebury: 38 Colby: 25

SAVES: Middlebury: Eric Kreiger (60:00) 9 Colby: John Shea (60:00) 17