MUSTANGS OUTSTANDING, BUT DOWNED BY BOWDOIN COLLEGE

The Mount Ida College Men’s Lacrosse team hung tough at nationally ranked Bowdoin College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament trailing by one goal (4-3) at halftime. But the Polar Bears would chip away throughout the second stanza taking the 11-5 victory advancing to Middlebury College for second round action this Friday. The Mustangs cap their season with an amazing 13-5 overall record and another birth to the NCAA Tournament via their fifth North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory.

Sophomore goaltender Matt Vernik (Bethany, CT/Amity Regional) and the MIC defense kept their team alive the entire game with some key shut downs by big D and a ridiculous performance by Vernik between the pipes with 13 highlight saves.

Mount Ida would take the early 1-0 lead with 9:52 in the first quarter on a score by freshman Matt Savage (Peabody, MA/Peabody), his first of two during the contest. Bowdoin responded with a three-goal run, as a pair of Owen Smith (Brunswick, ME/Brunswick) tallies sandwiched a Justin Starr (Concord, NH/Concord) goal to give the hosts a 3-1 advantage.

The Mustangs would score two out of the last three goals before the half, one by junior Brett Conley (Fairfield, CT/Fairfield Warde) with freshman Frank Rozio (Clinton, CT/Morgan) netting the other. The visitors had the advantage by one goal at 4-3 going into the second half.

Bowdoin took control of the contest in the third scoring four goals with no answer from the Mustangs. Polar Bear senior Mike Giordano (Washington, DC/St. Albans) would net three of his game high five goals in the quarter.

The Mustangs trimmed the lead to 8-5 with consecutive goals by freshman Dan Harrington (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) and Savage, closing the gap to three goals with 9:26 to play.

But the hosts would tally the final three goals of the game giving Bowdoin the 11-5 victory and a berth into the second round of the NCAA Tournament..

Mount Ida's Matt Savage led the team with two goals during his first taste of the tourney while senior Tom Watts (Ardmore, PA/Lower Merion) earned three ground balls. The Mustangs had a very solid chance to win this game but they had a difficult time with the transition on 12 of 31 clears for the afternoon.

It was an amazing season for Mount Ida rounding things out at 13-5, 7-0 in the North Atlantic along with their fifth consecutive conference championship and a second consecutive berth into the NCAA Tournament.