The Middlebury Panthers defeated Bowdoin Polar Bears this past Saturday at Kohn Field in a definitive 16-12 final. The ninth ranked Panthers (7-2, 4-1) had nine different scorers, leading by as many as 10 in the second half before the Polar Bears (8-2, 4-2) scored seven of their final eight goals during the last 12:38.
Middlebury set the tone for the game, scoring six goals in the first 14:55. Captain Chase Delano ’11 assisted the first and netted three more during this opening run. Bowdoin put their first goal on the board 12:42 into the campaign, but Middlebury quickly retaliated as Liz Garry ’12 scored a goal off of a nice pass by Ellen Halle ‘13. Emma Kramer ‘12 had the next Panther tally, scoring her first career goal for Middlebury at the 5:25 mark.
The half ended with the teams exchanging goals, as Stephanie Gill ’12 capitalized on a pass from Kramer making the score 9-2 in favor of the Panthers entering the intermission. When asked about their quick offensive success, Halle ’13 attributed it to “being able to capitalize on Bowdoin’s defensive play by moving the ball quickly and working together on attack.”
The visiting Polar Bears started the second half off strong netting the first two goals. However, the Panthers regained the momentum by scoring six of the next seven goals, making the score 15-5 with 17:36 remaining in the tilt. The run started with Delano netting her fourth goal of the game while Michaela Colbert ’13 and Heather Marrison ’13 put in the next two.
The Panthers came back with an offensive vengeance after a tough showing at Hamilton, and their determination showed.
As Halle noted, “It was a great to get another chance to overcome the challenge the offense faced in the Hamilton game.”
Bowdoin retaliated to the Panther attack before Liz Garry ’12 netted a pair of goals. The Polar Bears answered with two unassisted goals of their own before Margaret Souther ’13 buried the last Panther goal of the campaign off a behind the net pass from Dani Demarco ’13 at the 9:15 mark.
Bowdoin put in the final five goals of the game, but their efforts fell short, seeing the Panthers walk off the field with a 16-12 win. For the home team, Stephanie Gill ’12 earned four draw controls while Lily Nguyen ’12 was solid in net, making twelve saves before being relieved by Alyssa Palomba ’14 at the 6:45 mark.
Delano was proud of the team’s ability to put together a full game as a unit, saying, “We came out fighting and didn’t stop until the last whistle blew.” The team worked hard to learn from the losses against Colby and Hamilton and channeled these games as motivation to practice hard.
Later, Halle agreed, claiming “After we lost last week, we came out to practice very motivated and the level of play rose dramatically.” The Panthers will continue to keep up the intensity throughout practices this week before hosting Trinity College Saturday at 2:00pm on Kohn Field.
Women’s lacrosse puts end to losing streak with win at home
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