Senior Bobby Wells tallied the game winner with 48 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to lift the No. 12 St. Lawrence University men's lacrosse team to a 10-9 win over No. 19 Middlebury in the second round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at Tufts University on Saturday afternoon.

Wells recorded a hat trick and scored two of those goals in the fourth to lead the Saints, while Cam Croasdaile tallied two goals and two assists. Dan Anderson also tallied a pair of goals, while Daniel Mahoney, Jamie Rosenzweig and Henry Crean each scored once. Paddy Condon won 12 faceoffs and picked up a team-best eight ground balls. Anderson caused two turnovers and picked up four ground balls.

Middlebury got the better of the play to start the game, outscoring the Saints 3-1 in the first quarter, with the Saints first goal coming from Croasdaile for his 18th of the season.

The Saints settled in to start second, sparking a four-goal run to take a 5-3 lead over the Panthers. Mahoney, Rosenzweig, Crean and Anderson, all scored to give the Saints the lead. St. Lawrence shutout the Panthers in the second to build their two-goal lead, as Saints' goaltender Michael Marinello made 11 saves in the first 30 minutes.

Anderson scored his second of the game and his eighth of the season give the Saints a 6-3 advantage to start the third, but the Panthers tallied back-to-back goals after that to creep back within one. Wells broke the Panthers run with his first of the game, but Middlebury scored the next three to take an 8-7 lead with one quarter to go.

Croasdaile knotted the game at eight and Wells scored on a give-and-go twister with Sam Smith to put SLU up 9-8 with 7:29 to play. Middlebury's Logan White tied things back up at nine with 2:25 to play. Wells finished off the hat trick with an unassisted tally for the game winner, sending the Saints to the third round on Sunday.

"What a gutsy win by this team in an atmosphere that felt like a home game," said head coach Mike Mahoney. "We shouldn't be surprised, as we have lived all year in the one or two possession games. I am just so proud of their willingness to keep battling at every turn."

"We will enjoy it briefly and then make sure we get our rest and recovery as we prepare for the next opportunity in front of us."

Marinello made 19 saves for SLU, Kern finished with nine for Middlebury. 

St. Lawrence improved to 12-6 on the season, while Middlebury finished the year at 9-9.

The Saints advance to the third round and will play No. 1 Tufts on Sunday, May 11 at 3 p.m. back at Bello Field.