THE BASICS:
 
- Score: MIT 21, Hamilton College 15
 
- Records: MIT (6-1); Hamilton (3-3)
 
- Location: Cambridge, Mass. (Roberts Field at Steinbrenner Stadium)
 
- The Lead: MIT rattled off 12 unanswered goals, creating enough of a cushion as it went on to defeat Hamilton College, 21-15, in non-conference men's lacrosse action on Wednesday night. Graduate student Ryan Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) powered the Engineers with seven goals and five assists, tying the program record for points in a game the second time this season and the fourth time during his career. Sophomore Matthew Sardis (Bernardsville, N.J.) became the MIT all-time leader in career faceoff wins as he surpassed the mark of 390 set by Luke Gianni '21 and currently stands with 413 victories. Torben Wunderle paced the Continentals with five goals, one assist, and four groundballs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
 
- MIT jumped out to a 4-0 lead as Gebhardt was a factor in three of the goals. Senior Tory Lentine (Flemington, N.J.) opened the scoring just 41 seconds into the game and then Gebhardt set up senior Andrew Palleiko (Hopkinton, Mass.) with 11:47 on the clock. Over three minutes later, Gebhardt earned an assist on a strike by first year Bryce Metalios (Riverside, Conn.) while Gebhardt found the back of the net with 6:55 left. Tim Sommer put Hamilton on the board at the 3:26 mark but Metalios scored on feed from Lentine exactly 55 seconds later. The Continentals responded with tallies by Rowan Brumbaugh and Wunderle during the final 1:01 of the frame to come within 5-3.
 
- A solo effort by Lentine early in the second stanza led to nine straight goals and 14-3 halftime lead for the Engineers. Gebhardt recorded the next four goals during a three-minute span with senior Teddy Corcoran (Harrison, N.Y.) earning assists on the last two tallies. First year Zach Bleil (New Canaan, Conn.) scored with 6:31 on the clock and then registered assists on the following goals by junior Bennett Stankovits (Rumson, N.J.) and Gebhardt. First year Garrett Campagna (Lancaster, Pa.) capped the burst with 1:42 remaining.
 
- MIT carried the momentum into the third quarter as blasts by Bleil, junior Joe Lupo (Bedford, N.H.), and Stiles moved the score to 17-3 at the 10:55 mark. Despite the deficit, Hamilton continued to attack as it put together a 6-1 run. Thomas Healy ended the Continentals' scoring drought with 7:28 on the clock and added another goal less than three minutes later. Wunderle produced two goals and an assist while Brumbaugh set up Wunderle's second goal, a man-up strike, and then scored on a feed from Troy Pollock with 16 seconds to go. Sardis won the ensuing faceoff and immediately buried his first goal of the season, increasing the Engineers' advantage to 19-9.
 
- Hamilton controlled the action in the fourth quarter as it outscored MIT, 6-2, all during the final 6:54 of the game. Wunderle ended the defensive battle, but Gebhardt quickly responded with a solo strike of his own. Exactly 10 seconds later, Wunderle scored again and then Justin Pearl notched back-to-back goals. Brumbaugh found the back of the net, bringing the Continentals within 20-14 with 2:47 remaining. Gebhardt set up Stiles for the hosts' final goal with 22 seconds as Hamilton capped the scoring when Johnny Oblak redirected a pass from Reece Hickey eight seconds later.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
 
- Bleil finished with two goals and three assists as Lentine and Stiles both posted two goals and one assist. Sardis won 23 of his 31 faceoff attempts and collected 18 groundballs while sophomore Nico Bowden (Concord, Mass.) posted five groundballs and two caused turnovers. Senior Chris Perrino (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) contributed three caused turnovers as senior goalie Devin McCabe (New Castle, N.H.) made five saves.
 
- Brumbaugh registered three goals, one assist, and four groundballs while Oblak tallied a team-high five groundballs. Hickey went 12-of-27 on the faceoff "x" and notched four groundballs as Seamus Fagan amassed 13 saves for the Continentals.
 
- This was the first meeting between both programs.
 
UP NEXT:
 
- Both teams host conference opponents on Saturday, March 25 at 1:00 p.m. MIT will take on NEWMAC rival Springfield College while Hamilton will play NESCAC foe Colby College.
 
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