PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Behind two goals and four assists from senior attackman Holt Hopkins, Middlebury won its second straight NCAA Division III national championship with a 15-10 victory over Gettysburg on Sunday at Rutgers Stadium.

 Hopkins, who was voted the game's Most Outstanding Player, had a hand in the Panthers' first three goals of the day before setting up Greg Carroll at the end of a 5-0 second quarter that helped Middlebury take a 7-3 halftime lead en route to the win.

 Carroll finished with a hat trick, one of nine Panthers to find the net on the afternoon.  Freshman goalie Eric Krieger made 14 saves to withstand Gettysburg's 49-shot barrage.

 Jake Van Nostrand (Baldwin, NY/Baldwin) scored a game-high three goals for the Bullets, who were appearing in their first NCAA championship game in the 22-year history of the Division III tournament.

 Despite the loss, Gettysburg (16-2) wrapped up the 2001 season with program records for consecutive victories (14) and wins in a season (16).

 Pete Milliman (Rochester, NY/Brighton) netted two goals on the game – including the 100th of his collegiate career – while Tommy Pearce (Chestertown, MD/Woodberry Forest Sch. [VA]) finished with a goal and two assists.

 After falling behind 2-0 in the game's opening 4:30, Gettysburg responded with consecutive goals from Milliman, Pearce and Van Nostrand to take its lone lead of the day at 3-2 after one quarter.

 From there, however, the day belonged to the defending national champions.

 Middlebury tied the game at 3 when a wide-open David Seeley took a pass from Hopkins in front of the cage and finished the play with 12:09 left before halftime.

 Only 1:50 later, Peter Albro put the Panthers ahead to stay at 4-3 with a one-timer from Zach Herbert, again scoring from right on the crease.

 Gettysburg took five shots over the next four minutes, the last of which was stopped by Krieger with just under seven minutes left before the break, but couldn't pull even.

 On the ensuing possession, Christopher Davis circled the net and scored unassisted to make it 5-3 at the 6:24 mark.

 Carroll capped the run with two goals in 2 minutes, 10 seconds to give the Panthers a 7-3 halftime advantage.

 Goals from Milliman and Rich Sharp (Acton, MA/Acton-Boxborough Reg.) in the first 1:26 of the third quarter keyed a 3-1 run that pulled the Bullets within 8-6 at 10:20, but Gettysburg would get no closer the rest of the way.

 Twenty-eight seconds after Pearce set up Chris Baran (Newington, CT/Newington) to cut the deficit to two, Herbert scored his second goal of the game to restore the Panthers three-goal edge and touch off a 3-0 run that pushed the lead to 11-6 with 3:39 left in the third.

 Four different Panthers scored in the final quarter to seal the victory and help Middlebury become the first team to repeat as Division III champions since Nazareth in 1996-97.

 Tim McGinnis (Ellicott City, MD/Loyola-Blakefield) made six saves on the day for Gettysburg, giving him 216 for the season, the second-highest single-season total in program history.

 Milliman's goal to open the second half was the 100th of his collegiate career.  Charlie Hanchett (Annapolis, MD/Stony Brook School [NY]) and Matt Twombly (New Canaan, CT/New Canaan) also scored goals for the Bullets.

 Gettysburg outshot Middlebury 49-32 on the afternoon while going 1-for-4 in extra-man opportunities and taking no penalties.

 Following the loss, the Bullets are 7-12 in all-time 12 NCAA tournament appearances.

2001 NCAA Division III Finals

Goals:
Middlebury: Greg Carroll 3, Zach Herbert 2, Holt Hopkins 2, Peter Albro 2, Matt Dunn 2, David Seeley, Christopher Davis, Jamie Haire, Mike Frissora.
Gettysburg: Jake Van Nostrand 3, Pete Milliman 2, Tommy Pearce, Rich Sharp, Chris Baran, Charlie Hanchett, Matt Twombly.

Assists:
Middlebury: Hopkins 4, Herbert 2, Dunn, Greg Bastis, Steve O'Neil.
Gettysburg: Pearce 3, Wes Cadman.

Shots: Middlebury 32, Gettysburg 49.

Ground Balls: Middlebury 62, Gettysburg 54.

Extra-Man: Middlebury 0 of 0, Gettysburg 1 of 4.

Faceoffs: Middlebury 10, Gettysburg 19.

Goalies: Middlebury (Eric Krieger – 60 minutes, 14 saves, 10 GA), Gettysburg (Tim McGinnis – 60 minutes, 6 saves, 15 GA).

Clearing: Middlebury 28 of 36, Gettysburg 24 of 27.

Penalties: Middlebury 4 for 3:00, Gettysburg 0 for 0:00.

Attendance: 14,417.

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