Women’s Lacrosse Surges Past Bates in Quarterfinals

The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team dominated Bates in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament, winning 15-2. It took more than 40 minutes for the Bates Bobcats to score, while the Panthers racked up 15 points with two halves of impressive play.

The Panthers looked to redeem themselves after an outlier loss to Bates for their first game of the season in OT. Not only did the Panthers prove themselves deserving of their No. 3 national ranking, but they also made up for a first game blunder. This time Middlebury was dominant.

Less than two minutes into the start of the game, senior captain Emma McDonagh started off the scoring for the Panthers. With two goals in just a few minutes, McDonagh spurred the ceaseless offensive domination. McDonagh lead the Panther offense with five goals on the game.

By halftime, Middlebury had acquired 2/3 of their points, leading the Bobcats 10-0. Kirsten Murphy ’21 tacked on four goals throughout the contest, two of which came at the start of the half. Murphy’s goals put the Panthers up 12-0. Minutes later, two Panthers connected with the back of the net (Kate Zecca ’20 and Lily Riseberg ’22). Finally, Zecca added a second goal to complete the Panther 15-0 run.

 With only a few minutes left in the game, the Bobcats were finally able to put a few points on the board, ending the contest 15-2. 

McDonagh, whose season has been impressive within itself, reached 202 career points this past weekend. 

Not only did the team dominate offensively, but they also continue to impress defensively. Julia Keith ’20 had a great game, finishing with 10 saves to shutout the Bobcats in her 40:55 on the field. Defender Addy Mitchell ’21 also collected four ground balls on the day. Out of 16 games this season, the Panthers have held their competition to single digits 14 times.

While the Panthers have had an impressive season thus far, the postseason is not yet finished. Coming up this weekend, the women’s lacrosse team will face Amherst in the semifinals. 

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