Women's lacrosse fails to hold on in opener vs. Bates

The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team suffered a tough loss to the Bates Bobcats in its season opener on Saturday. As the team took Peter Kohn Field to play its first home game, there was confidence on the Middlebury side, as the Panthers had defeated Bates in the past 17 matchups between the two teams.

However, the Bobcats made it clear that they would not allow Middlebury to walk away with an easy win. It did not hurt that former Middlebury player and assistant coach Heidi Howard ’99 was on the Bates bench, as she now coaches field hockey and lacrosse for the Bobcats.

Middlebury dominated the start of the game, taking a three-goal lead before seven minutes had expired.  Attacker Steph Gill ’12 contributed two of the first three and added one more to finish the game with three goals. However, Bates did not let Middlebury’s lead increase much more before starting to respond.

Bates created significant offensive pressure against Middlebury and was able to get three goals on the board before halftime. Though Middlebury did not have too many chances to score, Gill added her third and first-year Michaela Colbert ’13 tallied her first career goal before the first half was up. The intermission saw a 5-3 lead in Middlebury’s favor.

The scoring continued to be back and forth as the second half got underway. Another first-year, Margaret Souther ’13, earned her first career goal as a Panther as Middlebury put two more on the board for a 7-4 lead.

At this point, Bates took control of the game. Bates players Molly Radis and Morgan Maciewicz scored two goals apiece as Bates went on a five-goal streak to take the lead. Middlebury faced a two-goal deficit with 13 minutes remaining.

The first-year players certainly demonstrated that they would be significant contributors to Middlebury’s offense and proved they could step up in times of need. This was especially important as the Bates defenders were closely marking Middlebury’s best-known offensive threats: co-captain Dana Heritage ’10 and Chase Delano ’11.

First-year Souther added another goal in the second half while Colbert made a strong effort to cut Bates’ lead and regain Middlebury’s momentum with two late goals. However, Bates was able to respond and keep the score in its favor. Colbert finished the game with three goals.

“All of the first-year players got into the game and were able to contribute,” said Gill. “It was good to see them making the adjustment to our style of play and to this level of lacrosse.”

As time wound down, Bates executed a stall to run the time on the clock down. The Bobcats added one more goal to increase their lead to two in the final minutes of the game. Middlebury had two chances as the final seconds expired, including a free position attempt, but could not convert either. The final score was 11-9.

Goaltending was strong on both sides of the field, with Middlebury’s Lily Nguyen ’12 and Bates’ Mara Krueger each making nine saves apiece. Nguyen made some crucial saves for the Panthers to minimize Bates’ scoring as the Bobcats were in Middlebury’s defensive zone for the majority of the game.

Middlebury will have a week of practice to work out some of the kinks before the team takes the field again. “We will definitely be working on our transitions between the defensive and offensive ends, which will help us be stronger on defense and generate more offensive chances,” added Gill. The Panthers will play next at Wesleyan at 12 p.m. on Saturday.