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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Women’s Lacrosse Remains Undefeated

 

The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team has continued to dominate every opponent they match up against, holding a record of 10-0 after two NESCAC victories over Amherst and Tufts this past weekend, April 6 and 7.

Middlebury has had a packed schedule over the last two weeks with wins in four spring break games against Wesleyan, Gettysburg, Stevens Institute and Bowdoin. The Gettysburg and Bowdoin wins were particularly key for the Panthers, as both opponents entered ranked in the national top 10.

Despite their grueling schedule over break, the Panthers returned to beat Hamilton before defeating Amherst by a score of 13-4 and Tufts by a score of 15-8.

Middlebury was led against Amherst by Katie Ritter ’15, who netted three goals on the day. Michaela Colbert ’13, Ellen Halle ’13 and Laurel Pascal ’16 each added two goals in the win.

Middlebury’s offense got out to a quick start early, jumping to a 5-0 lead. From that point, however, it was the Panther defense which stepped up to assure the victory. Hannah Deoul ‘14, Heather Marrison ’13, Chrissy Ritter ’16 and Neile Weeks ’13 each contributed to the defense’s stellar performance, while goalie Alyssa Palomba ‘14 recorded three saves.

“One thing we have been working on has been our re-defend which we executed well especially on Saturday, one time ending up in a beautiful goal from Emma Kramer [’13] and Ellen Halle,” said Margaret Souther ’13.

Middlebury tied Amherst for the day on ground balls, but were able to outshoot their opponent 31-12. Middlebury was able to dominate draws throughout the game, winning 14 of 18. The Panthers also completed 70 percent of their clears, making it easy for them to gain possession of the ball on Amherst’s half of the field and allowing them to work their offense.

After dominating Amherst, Middlebury quickly reloaded and triumphed over Tufts the following day by a score of 15-8. The Panthers jumped out to an 8-5 halftime lead, but quickly separated themselves from the Jumbos by scoring the first seven goals of the second half.

Kramer finished with four goals against Tufts, while Halle and Pascal each finished with three goals and an assist. Palomba recorded five saves in 50 minutes of play, before being relieved by Katie Mandigo ’16, who recorded a save in the game’s final 10 minutes.

The Panthers dominated Tufts in the faceoff circle, grabbing 18 of 24 draws in the game to keep their momentum going in the second half. Middlebury was near perfect in clearing against Tufts, successfully clearing 15 of 16 attempts.

“Both Amherst and Tufts are always great opponents, but we showed how much depth we have with our multiple scorers and assisters,” said Souther. “Liza Herzog [’14] was incredible on the draw for both games while Heather Marrison and Hannah Deoul made some key defensive blocks to keep the score low.”

Herzog was named NESCAC Player of the Week for her performance in both games during the weekend.

The Panthers have a brief respite this week, playing their next scheduled game on the road at Trinity on Saturday, April 13. The Bantams are currently ranked second in the national poll.

“Our team is very confident. We will have some things to work on in practice this week but should be 100 percent ready to win on Saturday,” said Souther.


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