NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey --Division III lacrosse, thy name is Middlebury.

The Panthers blew open a game that was knotted at seven goals apiece after three quarters to post their third consecutive Division III men's lacrosse title May 26 with a 14-9 win over Gettysburg in a rematch of last year's championship opponents.

The Middlebury men's feat kept them one title ahead of their female campus counterparts, who a week earlier secured their second consecutive Division III title.

With the victory, the men's team became the second in Division III to win three straight championships and the only current member of the division to do so. Hobart, which has played in Division I since 1995, won 12 straight titles from 1980 to 1991.

"Three in a row really has not sunk in yet," said Middlebury coach Erin Quinn, who has coached the Panthers to four straight championship games. "The feeling just for today is good enough."

Middlebury led, 5-4, at halftime but Gettysburg, which trailed throughout last year's game before losing, 15-10, tied the game 33 seconds into the third quarter on a man-down goal from Pete Milliman. At the end of three quarters, the game was tied at seven.

"We felt going into this game that we were much more prepared for all the hoopla than we were last year," said Bullets coach Hank Janczyk. "We came to play this year and came to win. We felt pretty good going into the fourth quarter."

Middlebury also liked its chances going into the final period despite playing what Quinn described as a ragged third stanza.

"I told our offense just to relax (after the third quarter)," Quinn said. "We had some really good looks and (Gettysburg goalie) Tim McGinnis made some really good saves.

"We also just didn't have the ball very much in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, we had the ball more and kept coming at them."

The Panthers' Grayson Fertig sounded the start of the decisive Middlebury salvo 39 seconds into the fourth quarter to give the defending champions the lead for good, 8-7, at 14:21. Then Zach Herbert, who was named the tournament's most outstanding player, scored on an assist from last year's most outstanding player, David Seeley, to stretch the lead to 9-7.

Middlebury then ran its string of unanswered goals to eight to take its largest lead, 14-7, with 3:52 left in the game. During the run, Herbert had two goals and two assists, while Greg Carroll had three goals, allowing him to finish with four and equal Herbert's game-high output.

"We had the ball a lot more in the fourth quarter and we didn't turn it over," Quinn said of the contrast of the two second-half quarters.

Herbert said he thought Gettysburg battle fatigue might have been to the key to the Panthers' late-game burst.

"We just wore them down," Herbert said. "We kicked the ball around a little bit, and it was bound to go in at some point."

The victory ran the champion's season-ending win streak to 10, the only loss coming to Bowdoin, 9-8, April 13. Gettysburg fell to 17-2.

Championship

Gettysburg scoring: Ric Bremer 3, Pete Milliman 2, Jake Van Nostrand 2, Kevin Smith 1, Wes Cadman 1.

Middlebury scoring: Zach Herbert 4, Greg Carroll 4, Matt Dunn 2, David Seeley 1, Peter Albro 1, Greyson Fertig 1, Mike Saraceni 1.

Shots: Gettysburg 39, Middlebury 43. Saves: Gettysburg -- Tim McGinnis 15, Middlebury -- Eric Krieger 12, Matt Levy 0. Paid Attendance: 14,411.