Women’s Lacrosse Falls in Standings

In a week where the weather once again played tricks on much of the Northeast, the Panther women’s lacrosse team split their two games, winning a weekday road matchup against Union before dropping a NESCAC contest to visiting Colby.

On Tuesday, Middlebury got on the board early as Mary O’Connell ’17 and Hollis Perticone ’18 scored within the first three minutes of play. After a Union goal, the Panthers extended their lead to 5-1 with Jenna McNicholas ’19 netting two and Bea Eppler ’17 one. The hosts tallied three of the next four goals to bring them within two, but two free position scores by Emma McDonagh ’19 and MG Gately ’20 and an unassisted goal by Perticone gave the visiting Panthers a five goal lead, although the Dutch Women were able to cut it to four before the half ended.

Within eight minutes of the start of the second half, Middlebury rattled off four consecutive goals by four different players: Eppler, Perticone (assisted by McDonagh), Sara DiCenso ’19 and McDonagh (assisted by Casey O’Neill ’19). In an attempt to come back, Union scored twice quickly but the Panthers answered back with two more goals by McDonagh and O’Connell. As soon as Union made another push to get back in the game with two goals, the Panthers answered with three of their own: Perticone netted two and DiCenso put the third home.

Middlebury ended the game with a comfortable lead over the Dutchwomen, winning by the margin of 18-10. Perticone stole the show with six goals in the win, while McDonagh contributed four points of her own (three goals, one assist) to bolster the Panthers. Eppler, DiCenso, O’Connell and McNicholas all scored twice.

This game, however, was not of huge importance. The main attraction was the matchup with tenth-ranked Colby on Saturday. While the Panthers were looking to pick up steam heading into the postseason, the underdog Mules wanted to play spoiler to the reigning champion’s hopes. In Waterville, Maine, the stage was set for a dogfight.

McDonagh got the Panthers on the board first, taking matters into her own hands and scoring an unassisted goal. Colby, however, returned fire with a goal of their own. McDonagh, not to be outdone, converted a free position opportunity into another tally. Perticone, eager to leave her mark on the stat sheet, scored her own free position goal. The home team scored again but Perticone was determined not to let the Mules gain momentum: she scored once again, putting her in contention again with McDonagh for leading scorer. Colby answered her efforts by scoring three of the next four goals. Going into the break, the NESCAC matchup was tied at five.

After an Eppler goal (assisted by Perticone), the Mules took control of the game. Displaying their impressive defense, Colby prevented Middlebury from scoring for the last 28:57 of the game. In that span, the hosts scored four times. The Panthers were not without their opportunities, though; Eppler and Perticone had multiple attempts in the period and O’Connell hit the crossbar on one of her shots. In the end, Colby came out on top, 9-6.

The Panthers’ six goals for the game were divided evenly between Eppler, Perticone and McDonagh, while Jessie Yorke ’17 scooped up three ground balls. Colby outshot Middlebury, 9-5, while Middlebury controlled more draws (11-6).

Middlebury had a chance to bounce back yesterday, Wednesday, April 26, as they hosted Williams Ephs. Check the athletics website for yesterday’s results or for the latest on the Panthers’ postseason outlook.