Women's lacrosse sticks it to Williams and Amherst

Author: Simon Keyes

The Middlebury women's lacrosse team, the fourth-ranked Division III team in the nation, made a strong case for itself as the cream of this year's NESCAC crop after two resounding victories over NESCAC foes Williams and Amherst. Both the Ephs and the Lord Jeffs were undefeated in the NESCAC heading into the games, and also nationally ranked at eighth and sixth, respectively.

"Our defense and general intensity against Williams was not great, even though we pulled off the win. We had good hard practices after Wednesday and came out really strong against Amherst," said senior co-captain Kim Walker.

Right off the bat against the Lord Jeffs, the Panthers were relentless on both ends of the field. They easily sprinted away with a dominating 11-3 victory. It was a nightmare relived for Amherst, who suffered a loss to the Panthers by the exact same 11-3 tally last season.

Even though the forecast was for clear skies accompanied by a bitter cold, the Panthers surged off the starting blocks at a red- hot pace. They burst out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first six minutes and never looked back. The only contest from Amherst occurred just after Middlebury's initial goals, when Lord Jeff Amy Craig notched a free-position score.

Amherst's reprisal was short-lived, however, and Middlebury responded emphatically by registering five unanswered goals to close out the first half with a 7-1 lead.

The second half proved a continuance of Middlebury's dominant play, as it scored two more goals, pushing the lead to an insurmountable 9-1 margin. From that point on, the Panthers did not need to exert much effort in closing out the game.

While Middlebury did score fewer goals than its season average of 12.68 goals per game, the numbers proved inconsequential as the Panthers played intense and suffocating defense all afternoon, forcing a crooked number of Amherst turnovers, 23 in all.

"Our defense was stellar and our attack was smart - we were really connecting well," said Walker.

Between the pipes, Blaire Bowie '09 halted 11 shots, while on the other end of the field, first-year Dana Heritage led all scorers with five points coming on four goals and an assist.

Three days earlier, the Panthers braved the cold weather en route to a 15-12 victory over the Ephs. Oddly enough the men's team, which was scheduled to play Williams away that same day, had its game cancelled, even though further south the weather in Williamstown, Mass. was no doubt warmer than the frigid temperatures felt on Wednesday in Middlebury.

Again, as the Panthers proved in their victory over Amherst, the frosty conditions would do nothing to stop their high-octane offense. Middlebury scored nearly three more goals than their season average.

Right out of the opening face-off, the Panthers' offense was firing on all cylinders, racing out to a 4-0 lead in the first 4:56. Later in the half, with 12:58 remaining and a 7-1 lead, the Panthers seemed to get too comfortable and the Ephs quickly got back in the game closing the half with five of the last seven goals and inching closer to 9-6.

After the half, Walker chipped in two goals and the Panthers scored three of the first four goals to amass a 12-7 lead. Williams would cut the lead to 12-9 at the 12:48 maker. The Ephs' efforts, however, would prove to be in vain. Middlebury held at least a three-goal lead for the remainder of the game.

The Panthers displayed a balanced scoring attack, with three players notching hat-tricks. Two of the team's three captains, Walker and Claire Edelen '07, had hat-tricks, as well as Mimi Schatz '08.

Heritage again proved to be a threat in Middlebury's offense, notching two points on a goal and an assist.

The Panthers outshot the Jeffs 33-26, and held the advantage in the ever-important draw control category with a 15 draws to Amherst's 11.

"Getting the draw control has also been a major factor in the big wins for us," said Heritage, who was also named NESCAC Player of the Week.

"The defense was amazing on Saturday,

said Bowie, who had nine saves. "Lindsay McBride and Taryn Petrelli were everywhere in the 8m knocking down a ton of feeds and denying almost every drive on goal."

Middlebury carries its 5-1 record to Skidmore on April 12. Two days later, Middlebury will challenge NESCAC foe Trinity College.