Women’s Lacrosse Runs Past Bates in Opener 20-4

The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team came out firing this past Saturday, March 9, in their season opener against NESCAC foe Bates, winning by a final score of 20-4.

Senior Ellen Halle ’13 pointed to the team’s extensive preseason preparation as integral to its early success.

“The team has been pushing themselves since our first practice, and the level of competition in practice has been very high,” she said. “After three weeks of playing with each other, however, we were ready to see how we stacked up against another NESCAC team and we were really happy with the results.”

Middlebury’s win was a team effort with nine different players scoring goals. The effort was led by Halle and Margaret Souther ’13, who each finished the game with four goals. Halle also added four assists for a total of eight points in the game, while Souther finished with one assist for a total of five points in the game.

Meanwhile, first-year Laurel Pascal ’16 finished the game with a trio of goals, Alice Pfeifer ’13 with two goals and three assists, Michaela Colbert ’13 with two goals and two assists and Emma Kramer ’13 with two goals and two assists. Liza Herzog ’14, Ali Sciaretta ’16 and Chrissy Ritter ’16 each contributed a goal to the win.

Middlebury started the game with a 2-1 lead, but quickly took over control of the contest, going on an 11-0 run to close out the first half.

During this run, Souther scored all four of her goals, with Halle adding two of her own.

Leading 13-1 in the second half, the Panthers continued to keep the pressure on Bates with players scoring throughout the remainder of the game.

Goalie Alyssa Palomba ’14 played the entire game in net and recorded three saves and five ground balls while forcing three turnovers over the course of the game.

Halle pointed to the team’s ability to move the ball efficiently against the Bobcat defense.

“We came out with a lot of momentum and played our game from the first draw,” said Halle. “We kept the ball moving on attack and were able to find each other really well and set up some nice plays. Most of our goals were assisted which means thus far we have done a good job getting to know our teammates.”

Going into the game ranked fifth nationally, the Panthers lived up to their ranking and displayed their ability and potential to dominate in the NESCAC. The team not only has many skilled veteran players, but also has depth with regards to the juniors, sophomores and first-years who also contributed to the win.

The Panthers will be resting and preparing this week as they host Connecticut College on Kohn Field this Saturday, March 16, at 12:00 p.m. Middlebury posted 18 goals against Conn. Coll. last season in a dominant performance.

The Panthers, who retained most of their scoring from a year ago, are ready to defend last year’s trip to the Final Four.

“We have a lot of depth and a lot of determination, so we’re excited to keep moving forward in our season,” said Halle.