Women's lacrosse sticks it to Amherst, pockets sixth win

Author: Dickie Redmond

The Middlebury women's lacrosse team won its third consecutive game Saturday, April 5 at Kohn Field, handing Amherst its first loss of the season. The Lady Jeffs fell 14-3 after an almost-flawless effort led by the Panther captains.

"Playing Amherst is always exciting and our game on Saturday definitely lived up to our expectations," said co-captain Reid Berrien '08. "Our team really came together and both the offense and the defense were able to execute everything we had been working on in practice during the past week."

Co-captain Katherine Entwisle '08 delivered one of her strongest and most productive performances of the year and carried the Panthers with five goals. Chase Delano '11 also had a standout game - scoring three goals while adding one assist. Delano has been an important goal-scorer this year and has legitimized the tremendous ability that the class of first-years possess - making it a key asset for the team as it graduates important players at the end of this season.

Over spring break, the women's lacrosse team played Washington and Lee and Gettysburg - both extremely competitive teams - and ended the trip with two losses. The team had a rough game against Washington and Lee, losing 14-8, though they played much better against Gettysburg, losing in overtime and finishing with a hard but well-fought loss.

"Unfortunately, we were unable to pull out a win and ended up losing in overtime which is always very tough," said Berrien. "Although we didn't win, it was a great game against a good team that we'll probably see again."

After traveling south, the Panthers trekked to Maine to play Colby and had their first win after their two consecutive losses. The Panthers won 17-11 against the Mules on March 29, and were led by Mimi Schatz '08, who finished with three goals and three assists.

Middlebury played its fourth game on the road in the middle of last week in Williamstown, Mass. - beating the Ephs 13-10, and holding off a late comeback. Similar to their game against Amherst, Delano and Entwisle led the Panthers with a combined seven goals - Delano contributed three while Entwisle scored four - and helped relieve the team after Williams had cut the lead to one.

On April 5, the Panthers set the tone of the game in the first 30 seconds off a goal from Schatz, and continued to score two more before the Lady Jeffs answered mid-way through the first. The team outscored its opponent 6-1 in the first half off goals from Delano, Entwisle and Schatz.

Middlebury dominated Amherst for the majority of the game - out-shooting the Jeffs in both halves and limiting their turnovers. The win puts the Panthers in a favorable position in the NESCAC standings, and confirms their ability to win at home. The team is undefeated in conference play and at home this season.

Blair Bowie '09 played most of the game in goal, and finished with seven saves. In the second half scoring was less concentrated, as many contributed to the convincing win. Sally Ryan '11, Lindsay Winstead '11, Caroline Kirkendoll '09 and Berrien all had one goal in the second half - lifting the Panthers to a victory.

The women's lacrosse team is content with its win, giving Amherst its first loss and building the Panthers' momentum with a three- game winning streak after a tough series of two losses. The Panthers look to extend their winning streak next weekend at Trinity.