Women’s Lacrosse Rises Through the Ranks; Now 5th

After earning a number of key wins against very competitive teams both in the NESCAC and outside the conference, the Middlebury women’s lacrosse team has continued to show their talent and potential as the team moves towards the second half of the season, achieving a 9-1 record against a tough slate of opponents.

The Panthers, now ranked fifth in the nation, strung together a series of commanding wins over spring break, defeating Bowdoin 14-6 at home, with Liza Herzog ’14 leading the Panthers with five points, followed by Katie Ritter ’15, Bridget Instrum ’16 and Mary O’Connell ’17 each contributing four points.
Herzog was named NESCAC player of the week for her performance against Bowdoin.

Following the Bowdoin game, the Panthers travelled down to West Palm Beach, Fl. where they defeated Rochester Institute of Technology 19-4 for Head Coach Missy Foote’s 400th win over the course of a 34-season career with the program. Following their trip to Florida, Middlebury headed north to play fourth-ranked Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Penn.

Despite the close proximity of the two teams in rankings, the Panthers dominated the Diplomats, winning by a score of 14-5. Sophomore Laurel Pascal ’16 led the Panthers in their commanding win with five goals on eight shots, supported by a pair of goals and three assists from Ritter.
Middlebury’s undefeated record, however, was ended the following game in a 11-10 loss to third-ranked Amherst.

After coming out flat-footed and falling behind 0-5 to the Lord Jeffs within the first 13 minutes of the game, Middlebury slowly clawed their way back by scoring three goals in the last few minutes of the first half, and four unanswered goals in the second half. After taking a 9-8 lead off of a goal from Megan Griffin ’16 six minutes into the second half, Middlebury went goal for goal with Amherst, until Amherst’s Elizabeth Ludlow scored with 3:35 left in the game to give her team the conference win.

Despite this loss, Middlebury was able to defeat Hamilton 11-8 with seven straight goals to come back from behind this past Wednesday, April 2.

On Saturday, the Panthers took on the 14th-ranked Bates Bobcats, who had earlier in the season defeated perennial NESCAC powerhouse Trinity.

The Bobcats struck first in the game with two goals from Wally Pierce. Middlebury answered, however, with goals from Alli Sciarretta ’16 and O’Connell. Bates then proceeded to go on a three-goal run to bring the score to 5-2 going into the second half.

Middlebury was the first to fire in the second half, with a goal from Pascal with 23 minutes left in the game. Bates answered with a goal from Kalleigh Maguire to put the score at 6-3 in favor of Bates. Middlebury did not relent, and after a goal from Sciarretta with 15 minutes left in the game, proceeded to stage a late-game comeback with three consecutive goals: two from Instrum and one from Catherine Lincoln ’16.

“I think the Bates game was a big test for our team,” said Lincoln. “We were able to pull together under intense pressure and make some amazing things happen.”

Senior captain Alyssa Palomba ’14 made several key saves in goal, ending the day with a save percentage of .455 off of five saves. Middlebury was also able to hold off the Bobcats with stellar defense and key ground balls from senior defenders Hannah Deoul ’14 and Erin Benotti ’14.

The Panthers now sit at 9-1 overall and 6-1 in the NESCAC. They will play Cortland State at home on Thursday, April 10, followed by a matchup with conference foe Trinity at home on Saturday, April 12.

“Moving forward, I think we will benefit from using this same intensity and team work when we face Cortland and Trinity, who are both tough teams,” said Lincoln.