Lax All Business in Two Open-and-Shut Victories

Author: Karen Nerenberg

This past week, the Middlebury women's lacrosse team improved to 10-0 with two wins over non-conference opponent University of Vermont (UVM) and NESCAC challenger Trinity College. The Panthers overcame UVM by a score of 17-3 and topped the Bantams, 16-9.

Earlier in the week, against UVM, Middlebury threw in 15 first half goals to take a lead that would never be smaller than 13 goals. Holding the Catamounts to three shots on goal in the first half, the Panthers posted an impressive 7-0 start, starting with junior Kristin Hanley's goal in the first two minutes. Char Glessner '03.5 had a strong half, ending the first session with four goals and an assist. The Catamounts were only able to find the back of the net once, when first-year Kate Parker scored at 17:31. The Panthers responded, scoring ruthlessly until the last minute of the half, when Beth Seeley '05 scored her third of the first half.

In the second half, the Panthers slowed the game down a bit, working the ball around the 12-meter fan for minutes at a time, playing more of a possession game. Meg Bonney '03 was able to score twice, on set plays, at the two ends of the half, once at the beginning and once at the end. Nuala O'Donohoe '04 assisted the first goal, while Bonney used a pass from Liv Wilson '03 on the second goal. The Cats were able to score twice in the second half as well, at 22:13 and 11:31. However, the Panthers were much too strong for the Catamounts to close the gap any more, ending the game at 17-3.

On Saturday, the Panthers traveled to Hartford, Conn. to take on Trinity College, ranked seventh in NESCAC play. Once again, Middlebury used a strong first half to take command in the game, going into the break with an 8-1 lead. Also similar to the UVM game, Glessner led the team with five goals and one assist. O'Donohoe walked away with three goals. In the cage, Sarah Grenert '04 made nine saves.

For her nine-goal week, Glessner earned NESCAC Player of the Week, becoming the first Panther to earn the award this season. She ended the week with 19 points, leading Middlebury to two wins.

Seeley tried to justify the consistently large margins of victory, commenting that the team is "using the fast break really well and our zone [defense] is working very effectively." She added that the Panthers are just "trying to focus on each game," and not looking past challengers.

In what should prove to be a test, the Panthers play their last home game of the season on Wednesday against Williams College, tied with Amherst for second place in NESCAC. "We just have to play up our level and play our game," Seeley said about the challenge. On Saturday, the Panthers take on Bates in the last game of the regular season.