Women's Lax Disposes of Challengers With Ease

Author: Kate Nerenberg

On Saturday, the women's lacrosse team picked up win number eight, remaining undefeated, in a 16-4 spanking of Bowdoin College. Middlebury handed the Polar Bears their second loss of the season en route to their sixth NESCAC victory. The team is still ranked on top in the national Division III poll, a spot it has held since the preseason polls were released. Yesterday, Middlebury improved to 9-0 with another impressive win over the University of Vermont, a Division I team.

In the NESCAC match-up against Bowdoin, ranked fourth in the conference, the Panthers overcame an early 2-1 deficit with the outstanding play of Nuala O'Donohoe '04. She tied the game at two with a goal off a free shot, and then put the Panthers ahead for good with her second goal of the game, just two minutes later. O'Donohoe's goals spurred a 10-goal scoring binge to give the Panthers a 10-2 cushion going into halftime.

In the second half of the game, Julia Bergofsky '02 threw in a couple goals to put Middlebury ahead, 12-3. Dalton Cox '03 sealed the win with two late goals, putting one past her sister, Kendall Cox, in goal. Before the half was over, Bowdoin was able to find the back of the net once more, to give them two goals on the half. Polar Bear Kristi Perine ended the game with one goal and one assist. For the Panthers, Sarah Grenert '04 and Johanna Rosenfield '05 combined for 13 saves in front of the cage.

On Tuesday, the Panthers used an extremely strong first half to run right past UVM. Char Glessner '03 led the way with four first-half goals, including three in a row in a five-minute span. Kristin Hanley '03 jump-started the Panthers by putting the ball in the back of the net just 1:46 into the game. Four minutes later, Glessner scored goal number one and then assisted on an O'Donohoe goal 40 seconds later. The Panthers waited three minutes and then struck twice in one minute, with goals by Katie Simpson '03 and Beth Seeley '05. The Catamounts were only successful in getting past the Panther defense once, when first-year Kate Parker scored at 17:31. However, Middlebury was absolutely relentless, as Simpson assisted on another O'Donohoe goal two minutes later. The Panthers continued to score right down to the last minute of the half, when Seeley scored her third of the first session.

Middlebury used the second half of the game to settle down and work on their offense sets, working the ball around for minutes at a time. The only goals came by Meg Bonney '03 at the beginning of the half, off a pass from O'Donohoe, and another unassisted goal with 1:16 remaining. Liv Wilson '03 assisted the second Bonney goal. Catamount Nicole Rifenbary found the back of the net at 22:13, while Courtney LaMere closed the gap by another goal at 11:31. However, the Panthers were much too strong for UVM to come any closer, ending the game at 17-3.

On Saturday, April 20, Middlebury travels to Hartford, Conn. to take on Trinity, ranked seventh in NESCAC play. Next Wednesday, the Panthers play their last home game of the regular season against Williams; a team Coach Missy Foote sees as challenge, as it is tied for second in the NESCAC. On Saturday, April 27, the Panthers will play their final game of the regular season at Bates, another NESCAC foe.