Contact: Ben Badua

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Despite three goals from Devin Acton '14, the Amherst men's lacrosse team closed out its 2013 season with a 19-9 loss to top-seeded Middlebury in the NESCAC championship quarterfinals.

With Amherst as close as 7-4 early in the third quarter, the Panthers netted seven straight goals to seize control. Improving to 13-2 on the season, Middlebury advances to next weekend's league semifinals, while the Jeffs finish the year with a 5-10 overall mark.

Quinn Moroney '16 wrapped up a stellar first-year with another solid outing, tallying four points on a goal and three assists. Fellow rookies Kane Haffey and Dylan Park, Jeff Izzo '13, Patrick Moroney '14 and Patrick Routh '15 had the rest of Amherst's nine goals.

Jon Broome '16 led all scorers with eight goals, while Mike Giordano '13 had two goals and five assists. Andrew Metros '13, Joel Blockowicz '15 and Scott Redmond '13 chipped in with two scores apiece.

Taking advantage of an Amherst penalty midway through the first quarter, Redmond netted a man-up score off a Giordano feed. Giordano then assisted on Broome's tally at 5:55 before Izzo and Quinn Moroney put the Jeffs on the board with goals 1:03 apart. 

Broome closed out the first period with a goal that made it 4-2 before Darric White '14 stretched the margin to three early in the second quarter. Erich Pfeffer '13 momentarily pushed the cushion to four, but Routh came right back with a score to cut it to 6-3. 

Down 7-3 at the intermission, Acton inched the visitors closer with a goal 34 seconds into the third. Middlebury responded with seven goals in a span of 4:46 to blow the game open. Metros got the streak started with an unassisted goal at 12:16, before Giordano made it 8-4. Metros struck again inside of the 11-miunute mark before Broome buried consecutive goals. Giordano kept things rolling with another score before Blockowicz capped off the run at 7:40.

The Jeffs outscored the Panthers 3-1 for the remainder of the third thanks to a pair of Acton goals, but the home team netted four of the six markers in the final frame to cruise to a 19-9 victory. Middlebury finished with a 51-47 shot advantage, while Amherst held a 39-34 edge in ground balls. Gregory Majno '14 made six saves for the Jeffs in the loss, while Nate Gaudio '14 collected nine stops.