Flawless Season Under Belt, Lax Eyes a White Mule Whipping

Author: Kate Nerenberg

With two NESCAC wins last week, the Middlebury women's lacrosse team ended the regular season without a loss. More importantly, though, they secured the top seed for the upcoming NESCAC tournament, to be held at Middlebury due to the team's success. In their last regular season home game, the Panthers defeated Williams 15-9 on Wednesday. They then went on the road on Saturday for the last game of the regular season, registering victory number 12 against Bates, winning by a margin of 17-4.

Williams provided a true challenge for the Panthers, as the Ephs would not back down despite an early 5-1 Middlebury lead. Williams fought back, tying the game at five goals apiece. However, Panther Meg Bonney '03 helped Middlebury regain the momentum by putting her team up, 6-5 on a free position shot at 15:19. Nuala O'Donohoe '04 built the lead up to 7-5 quickly thereafter.

The Ephs, however, would not back down, whittling away at the Panther lead as they scored another goal, bringing the team to back within one goal. But the Ephs could not keep the Panthers silent for too long. With 5:43 remaining, Kristin Hanley '03 increased the lead to two goals again. Middlebury gave themselves a small cushion with two goals in the final minute of the first half, going into the break with a 10-6 lead.

Not even three minutes into the second half, Julia Bergofsky '02 scored her fourth goal of the game, giving the Panthers an 11-6 lead. Williams quickly closed the gap to four goals, but could only score once more in the half, while the Panthers scored four more times. The 15-9 win guaranteed Middlebury the number one seed for the NESCAC tournament and also promised that they would host the games. Sarah Grenert '04 made 14 saves for the Panthers in goal.

The Panthers made the best of their last regular season game, scoring 12 unanswered goals at Bates. Bergofsky led the attack, finding the back of the net three times in the first half and assisting on three other goals. The Bobcats could not break the Panther defense until there were 10 seconds left in the first half. In the second session, Middlebury put five more goals on the scoreboard, while Bates put up three. Eleven different Panthers scored, including two-goal performances by O'Donohoe, Bonney, Dalton Cox '03 and Liv Wilson '03. Hanley ended the game with two assists. Grenert and Johanna Rosenfield '05 combined for 11 saves in the net.

Head coach Missy Foote said that both games were important opportunities for the team to play well together as a team. This week, Foote wants the Panthers to "work on our zone defense, our shooting and our fast break and putting those things together under the kind of pressure we will face as we head into post- season play."

The first stop in that post-season play is the NESCAC tournament this weekend, which includes the same final four teams as in 2001. Foote says of the tournament: "We face our toughest competition in this tournament and some of the best in the country," referring to the national rankings of Amherst (3rd), Williams (8th) and Colby (13th). "The winner of the NESCAC tournament receives a bid to the NCAA tournament. The second place team could receive an at-large bid," Foote explained. "This tournament is very important! We are not looking beyond it at all," she emphasized.

In the first game of the tournament, Middlebury takes on Colby College, the number four seed, at noon on Saturday. In the second game, Amherst, the second seed, will take on Williams, the third seed. The final game is at noon on Sunday. The Panthers have a long road ahead of them on their way to defending their 2001 National Championship.