Women's lax gets back on the winning track at home

Author: Julia Ireland

The Middlebury women's lacrosse team made it clear that they intend to finish their season on a high note as they defeated two tough NESCAC competitors at home last week.

After two losses the previous week, the Panthers decided it was time to change direction.

Trailing 3-1 to Amherst at halftime last Wednesday, Middlebury battled back against two separate two-goal leads in the second half to come away with a win. Twenty minutes into the second half, attacker Dana Heritage '10 converted a free position shot to bring the lead to within one goal. Chase Delano '11 was quick to follow with a goal to tie the game, 3-3.

The Lord Jeffs gained the lead again, netting two quick goals to go up 5-3. However, the Panthers responded with an unanswered five-goal streak to turn the game around. Heritage and Delano converted free position shots to contribute, while Alice Demmerle '09, Hannah Epstein '12 and Elizabeth Garry '12 each added one in the Panther spurt.

The lead would prove sufficient for Middlebury as the teams exchanged goals throughout the rest of the half. Middlebury held a four-goal lead until late in the game when Amherst netted two to make the final score 10-8.

On Saturday, 10th-ranked Middlebury took the field against eighth-ranked Trinity. The Panthers were all over the Bantam squad from the beginning and did not let up throughout the game.

"The biggest factor in the Trinity match was that we played our game," said Sally Ryan '11, who had four goals and two assists in the game. "We did what we needed to do to win the game according to our 'plans.' We had been practicing very, very hard this past week on ground balls, draw controls, man-to-man defense, and offensive plays. We executed a new play, 'orange,' that worked out really well. Our man-to-man defense was able to shut them down and we also had awesome transitions."

Middlebury wasted no time, scoring three early goals to take control of the game right away. Delano, Ryan, and Garry all tallied one to give Middlebury an early lead.

Trinity stayed in it at first, but before the first half ended, Middlebury scored seven times to cruise into halftime with a 12-3 advantage. Delano added two more in the run, while Heritage also tallied two - the Panther offense was clearly clicking.

"We have developed some new plays and have tried to figure out the flaws of our offense and take them out of our style of play," said Ryan. "We have a new mentality to take only high-percentage shots and use our possessions wisely."

In the second half, Trinity proved that the game was not yet over, scoring four of the first five goals to bring the lead to within six. A previous Hotchkiss teammate of Delano's, Trinity's Caite Irvine, had three of the goals in the Bantam streak and contributed five overall.

After a timeout, the Panthers came out with reinvigorated confidence to douse the Bantams' fiery comeback. They ended the game with a five-goal streak to close with an 18-9 victory.

The win secures home field advantage for the Panthers in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC tournament.

"There is something about playing on your own field that gives you even more incentive to play hard and win," said Ryan. "We're very used to playing on our turf and feel very confident at home no matter who we play."

The Panthers have one more regular season game this Friday at Williams. The NESCAC quarterfinals will be played on Sunday, April 26 at Kohn Field.