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(11/13/14 12:37am)
Despite having a wave of momentum behind them going into Saturday’s NESCAC semifinal matchup, the Middlebury women’s soccer team was unable to withstand a strong Williams offense and fell to the Ephs by a score of 0-2 on Saturday, Nov. 8.
Williams came out firing early in the game, shooting six of the first seven shots within the first 30 minutes of the game. The Ephs had their best opportunity at minute twenty-eight in the game, but were thwarted by Panther goalie Emily Eslinger ’18. Despite the pressure, Eslinger and the Middlebury defense remained strong during the barrage, and continued to fend off Williams throughout the first half.
With a scoreless game heading into the second half, both teams were playing aggressively coming out of the break with a trip to the NESCAC championship on the line.
The Panthers had a big opportunity at minute sixty-seven off of a free kick from Moria Sloan ’15 and an ensuing shot from Carter Talgo ’15 off Sloan’s rebound that sailed over the net.
After 71 minutes of failed opportunities, Williams’ Alison Magruder took advantage of a Middlebury mistake and finished a shot off of a stolen pass to put the Ephs up 1-0.
Up one goal, the Ephs continued the pressure on Middlebury’s defense and, five minutes after their first goal, scored a second after Williams’ Kristie Kirshe finished a header off of a cross from Crystal Lewin.
Despite a number of opportunities after the Kirshe’s goal from both ends, both teams failed to score after the 76th minute.
By the end of the game, Williams had significantly outshot Middlebury by a margin of 17-9. Carter Talgo led the Panthers in shooting with three shots in the game, while Amy Martin fired off the only shot on goal for the Panthers. Kristi Kirshe led Williams in shooting with five shots.
While Middlebury lost in the shooting game, the Panthers had more corner kick opportunities but were unfortunately unable to capitalize on them. Despite the loss Middlebury’s Emily Eslinger stepped up in net, making six saves on eight shots on goal.
Meanwhile Williams goalkeeper Hannah Van Wetter earned the shutout with one save on one shot on goal. It was Van Wetter’s 14th shutout of the season, and her sixth straight match without yielding a goal.
The lost against Williams leaves Middlebury with a final season record of 10-7. The Panthers did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Meanwhile the Ephs, who were ranked sixth nationally going into the game, played Connecticut College in the NESCAC final and lost in penalty kicks.
For the seniors on the Middlebury team, the early end to the season is a low point in a four-year career that saw the team qualify for three consecutive NCAA tournaments. Last season, the Panthers rode a 19-game winning streak all the way to the national semifinals, earning their first such trip in program history. The 2013 Panthers also won first NESCAC championship since 2006.
(11/05/14 6:55pm)
The Middlebury women’s soccer team continued their late-season momentum after successfully taking down Amherst in an away NESCAC quarterfinal on Saturday, Nov. 1. Strong defense against a high-pressure Lord Jeffs offense, as well as a key goal late in the first half, gave Middlebury the edge it needed to overcome a difficult in-conference opponent.
Amherst maintained dominance in the first half of the game, shooting five uncontested shots within the first 35 minutes of the game. Middlebury broke the scoring ice 38 minutes into the game after Middlebury’s Katherine Hobbs ’17 netted her first career goal off of a corner kick from Claire Nishioka ’15. Hobbs’ goal would serve to be the only goal scored during the game, securing the win for Middlebury.
Coming out into the second half down by a goal and with their season on the line, Amherst continued to challenge Middlebury with offensive pressure, peppering the Panther goaltender with relentless shots. However, tough Middlebury defense and a key second-half save by goalie Emily Eslinger ’18 off of a shot from Lord Jeff Meredith Manley allowed Middlebury to withstand Amherst’s pressure.
“Katherine [Hobbs] coupled her key goal with strong defense,” Nishioka said.
Amherst managed to gain the advantage in shots by a margin of 16-5. However, Middlebury put more of their shots on goal, tallying three in comparison to Amherst’s one.
Middlebury’s Eslinger earned the win for the Panthers in goal with one save, while Amherst’s Holly Burwick finished with two saves on three shots on goal for the day. While Middlebury was deeply outnumbered in corner kicks by a margin of 7-1, the Panthers capitalized on the one corner kick opportunity they received, producing the game-deciding goal.
This weekend, Middlebury will travel to Williamstown, Mass. for their NESCAC semifinal matchup against number-one seeded Williams. Williams edged out eighth seed Colby on Saturday by a score of 1-0 in their quarterfinal matchup.
The last time that Middlebury and Williams met was in mid-October when Middlebury travelled to Williamstown for their second match in a double-header weekend and lost 1-0. In order to curb the powerful Williams offense, which thus far has outshot their opponents 337-195, the Panthers must continue their strong defensive play and rely on their seasoned senior class for strong leadership.
Nishioka commented on the Panthers’ strategy heading into Saturday’s game.
“Williams has really skilled, fast forwards, that are tricky to keep track of,” she said. “As such, we’ll have to work on matching up correctly so w e can shut them down.”
While Williams provides a difficult matchup, the win over Amherst could provide just the spark Middlebury needs to come out on top against the Ephs.
(10/30/14 4:29am)
After falling behind to Wesleyan late in the game as the result of a scored penalty kick, the Middlebury women’s soccer team rallied back and took the lead with two minutes left in the game, allowing them to clinch a spot in the NESCAC playoffs. Wesleyan, who went into the game with a record of 1-10-2 and had yet to win a NESCAC game this season, came out firing and was the first to score off of a goal from Cardinal Sarah Sylla off of a cross from Madeline Keane 22 minutes into the first half.
After Sylla’s goal, Middlebury began to apply offensive pressure on Wesleyan, producing three consecutive shots from Hannah Robinson ’16, Adrianna Gildner ’17, and Carter Talgo ’15. Wesleyan finally caved to the Middlebury bombardment when Robinson finished a cross from Jamie Soroka ’16 to the near post. With the score tied at 1-1 after the first half, Middlebury continued to pepper the Wesleyan defense, but a number of big saves from Wesleyan goalie Rachel Hobert prevented Middlebury from scoring. Wesleyan caught a big break 65 minutes into the game after a Middlebury foul in the box allowed Wesleyan’s Marisa Yang to capitalize on a penalty kick.
With the post-season on the line, Middlebury received a wave of energy and quickly translated their momentum into a goal. Thirty seconds after Yang’s penalty kick, Katherine Hobbs ’17 found Soroka, who finished the through ball from Hobbs over the Wesleyan goalie’s head for the equalizer.
After tying the game, Middlebury continued to pressure Wesleyan’s defenders with a number of solid attempts at the goal including an attempted cross from Soroka that deflected off the far pipe of Wesleyan’s goal. Finally, Talgo gained control of a deflected shot by Soroka and scored, giving Middlebury the go-ahead goal with two minutes left to play. A last minute attempt by Wesleyan to tie the game was thwarted by Panther goaltender Emily Eslinger ’18 who made a diving save to prevent Wesleyan’s Madeline Keane from scoring late in the match.
Throughout the game Middlebury dominated Wesleyan in shooting and corner kicks, out-shooting the Cardinals 24-7 and leading the Cardinals in corner kicks 7-2. Middlebury’s Eslinger earned the win in goal, making three saves on five shots on goal. Wesleyan’s goalie finished the game with seven saves, facing 10 shots on goal from the Panthers.
Soroka looked positively on the win. “Our win against Wesleyan was a great way to finish out our NESCAC regular season and a fantastic win for our seven seniors on senior day,” she said.
With the win against Wesleyan, Middlebury women’s soccer earned a spot in the NESCAC playoffs, and awaits the news of their matchup for next Saturday in the NESCAC quarterfinals.
“We need to continue to bring our competitive edge coupled with our possession-oriented style of play to practice every day, and know that we need to take the tournament one game at a time in order to be as successful as we all know we can be,” Soroka said.
(10/22/14 8:58pm)
After gaining a crucial win last weekend against Hamilton College, the Middlebury women’s soccer team continued its strong play against the Bates Bobcats on Saturday, Oct. 18, but fell to the Williams Ephs on Sunday, Oct. 19.
After getting three uncontested goals past the defense of the Hamilton Continentals in the first 60 minutes, Middlebury withstood a late game comeback last Saturday.
Claire Nishioka ’15 was the first to strike for Middlebury, finishing a pass from Molly Parizeau ’15 37 minutes into the first half. After a scoreless 20 minutes, Amy Martin ’17 finished a cross from Katherine Hobbs ’17 for her first goal of the season.
The Panthers maintained the pressure on Hamilton and struck again three minutes later, after Martin lobbed a ball over the Hamilton defense that Carter Talgo ’15 ran for and was able to finish. When it seemed that Middlebury had solidified their win, Hamilton received a burst of energy beginning with a goal by Continental Victoria Freemanoff — a header off of a corner kick.
With just five minutes left in the game, the Continentals quickly coupled this with a goal from Darby Philbrick. It became a race against the clock, as strong defense and a big save from Middlebury goalie Emily Eslinger ’18 allowed Middlebury to come out on top of Hamilton’s attempted comeback. Eslinger finished with two saves off of four shots on goal.
After a week of practice, the Panthers hosted Bates on Dragone Field. The Panthers first struck 22 minutes into the game after Nishioka finished a cross from Jamie Soroka ’16. Ten minutes later Moria Sloan ’15 finished a cross from Katlyn Casey ’15 to put Middlebury up 2-0. After Sloan’s goal, Middlebury managed to hold Bates from scoring for the rest of the game. Eslinger finished the game with two key saves to earn the shutout. Middlebury was able to fire off four shots on goal, while Bates finished with two shots on goal. This is in keeping with Middlebury’s consistently high number of shots on goal per game.
On the heels of their win against Bates, the Panthers traveled to Williamstown on Sunday to face off against the 11th ranked Williams team. Both teams remained scoreless going into the second half despite solid attempts at the goal from either side. The ice was broken by Williams five minutes into the second half when Eph, Kristi Kirshe scored off of a pass from teammate Alison Magruder.
Despite four shots on goal, Middlebury was unable to capitalize on its opportunities. Eslinger finished with one save on the day, while Hannah Van Wetter anchored Williams’ defense and earned their shutout with four saves.
Middlebury now maintains an 8-6 record to earn itself a 5th place ranking in the NESCAC. The team will host Wesleyan next Saturday at 11a.m. on Dragone Field in their last NESCAC and regular season game, which will have important implications for the playoffs.
Parizeau commented on the team’s outlook moving forward.
“We’ve had a few tough losses, but Wesleyan will be a chance to prove what type of team we are,” she said. “We are committed 100 percent as a team of 25 to keep this season going.”
Wesleyan is 1-9-2 on the season, and 0-6-1 in the NESCAC, and therefore shouldn’t provide too tough of a test for the Panthers (8-6-0 on the season and 4-5-0 in the NESCAC) as they begin to sharpen their play in anticipation of a long run in the postseason.
(10/01/14 8:06pm)
Coming off a seven-day resting period after their loss to Bowdoin, the Middlebury women’s soccer team collected the win against Colby College in an away game in Waterville, Maine on Saturday, Sept. 27. The Panthers broke the ice 29:48 minutes into the first half when midfielder Hannah Robinson ’16 scored unassisted. Despite solid attempts from both contenders during the rest of the game, the score would remain 1-0 in favor of Middlebury through the final whistle.
Once again, Middlebury dominated the offensive game, outshooting the White Mules 11-4 in the first half, and 10-3 in the second half. Of Middlebury’s 21 shots, 12 were on goal, while only two of Colby’s seven shots fell on target. Despite a smattering of losses for the Panthers this season, the team has managed to match or outshoot their opponents in every contest.
Both teams continued to pressure each other throughout the second half. Middlebury’s Jamie Soroka ’16 was denied by a diving save from Colby’s goalkeeper with five minutes left in the game. Middlebury goalie Emily Eslinger ’18 came up big in her first career start, robbing Colby’s Emma Marjollet of a goal after she made a diving save on Marjollet’s direct shot 26 minutes into the second half. Despite the loss, Colby’s goalie Emily Brook also had a stellar day in net, saving 11 of Middlebury’s 12 shots on goal.
Panther players Claire Nishioka ’15, Molly Parizeau ’15, Robinson, Katherine Hobbs ’17, Krystina Reynolds ’17 and Soroka all tallied three shots on the day. Adrianna Gildner ’17 added two shots to round out the Middlebury offensive effort. Colby’s Marjollet led the White Mules in shooting with two shots.
Middlebury and Colby each had six corner kicks in the contest. Middlebury’s Sophie Kligler ’15 was given a yellow card with nine minutes remaining in the game. Despite the yellow card against the Panthers, the team finished strong, rounding out the second half with their lead intact.
On how this game affects the team’s momentum, Carter Talgo ’15 noted, “We feel as though this win over Colby will help move us to an upswing. It shows a significant amount about our character that we pushed ourselves to persevere through a couple of setbacks in previous games. We made a few changes, went back to our old formation and we should see progress from here.”
Middlebury now sits 4-3 overall and 1-3 in the NESCAC, while Colby sits 2-4-1 overall and 0-3-1 in the NESCAC. Middlebury will move on to play Skidmore in a midweek, under-the-lights away game at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by a home game against Tufts on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Talgo commented on the team’s prospects against Skidmore.
“Skidmore is a great team so we’ll have to rise to the occasion if we want to achieve the season we set our sights on in August,” she said.
Meanwhile, Colby will move on to play University of Maine-Farmington on Tuesday followed by Wesleyan on Saturday.
(09/24/14 10:51pm)
Coming off a startling loss to Connecticut College, the Middlebury women’s soccer team continued their disappointing start to the 2014 NESCAC season this Saturday, Sept. 20 as they fell at home to Bowdoin by a score of 2-1.
Going into the game, the Panthers were looking for an opportunity to turn around their season after a pair of hard-fought losses to conference foes Amherst and Conn. College. A midweek win over regional rival Plattsburgh provided a spurt of momentum that Middlebury brought into the matchup with Bowdoin.
Stout defense enabled the Panthers to play to a scoreless stalemate in the first half against the Polar Bears.
Goalkeeper Kate Reinmuth ’17 saved a trio of shots for Middlebury as both teams struggled to gain an edge in the opening period of play. Both the Panthers and Polar Bears were able to gain a few scoring opportunities in the half, but neither team was able to convert as the game went into halftime scoreless.
In the second half of play, Bowdoin broke through in the 59th minute with a goal from Amanda Kinneston. After Reinmuth made a diving save on a crossing shot from 30 yards out, Kinneston was able to tip the rebound back into the net to give her team the advantage.
Not to be outdone, the Panthers responded with a goal of their own 11 minutes later. After coming in as a substitute, combo forward-midfielder Krystina Reynolds ’17 answered off of a cross from senior Carter Talgo ’15 to tie the game at one apiece and give her team new life with just over 20 minutes left to play.
With the game tied, Bowdoin was able to regain the advantage in the 75th minute on a 20-yard shot from Kiersten Turner. Turner led Bowdoin with a goal and an assist on the day.
Goalie play was again strong on both sides in the game with Bowdoin’s Bridget McCarthy saving five of Middlebury’s six shots on goal. Reinmuth finished with five saves on seven shots faced.
Middlebury outshot Bowdoin on the day 15-13, while the Polar Bears’ single corner kick opportunity in the second half gave them a 3-1 advantage over the Panthers in that facet of play.
Middlebury’s outshooting their opponents regardless of the outcome of the game appears to be a common theme so far this season. With a shooting percentage of .064 as compared to their opponents shooting percentage of .135, finishing the opportunities they’ve created may be a point of emphasis for the team going forward. Only so many of their scoring troubles can be attributed to performance, however, as the Panthers haven’t caught nearly as many breaks as their opponents at this point in the season.
Middlebury resumes its slate of conference competition this Saturday, Sept. 27 when they travel to Colby for a matchup with the host Mules, who enter the game with a 1-3-1 record overall.
(09/17/14 10:49pm)
After starting the season strong with a decisive 3-0 win over Castleton State College, the Middlebury Women’s soccer team faced mixed results in their three games this week against Amherst, Keene State and Connecticut College,
Coming off the Castleton win, the Panther women hosted conference rival Amherst on Dragone field. The Panthers came out firing in the game, outshooting the Lord Jeffs by a total of 18-6, although they were unable to finish any of the attempts. This was in part due to stellar play by Lord Jeff goalie Holly Burwick, who saved all nine of the Middlebury shots on goal to earn the shutout. Amherst’s goal came in the 70th minute after miscommunication among the Middlebury defense resulted in an own-goal. Middlebury goalie Kate Reinmuth ‘17 finished with one save on two Amherst shots on goal.
Following the Amherst loss, Middlebury faced out of conference Keene State College at home. Keene State was first to strike in the match after Shannon Summers finished a ball to the far left post off of a pass from Rebecca Costello in the 41st minute of the game. Despite this, Middlebury did not relent and continued to pepper the Keene State goalie. Jamie Soroka ‘16 finished her first of two that day, two minutes into the second half off of a pass from Day Robins ‘17 to tie the game. She later connected off of a pass from Katherine Hobbs ‘17 at the 83rd minute mark to take the lead. The Panthers would finish the day by outshooting Keene State by a total of 23-6.
Reinmuth earned the win for Middlebury, finishing with two saves off of three shots on goal, while Keene State’s Victoria Crenson finished with eight saves off of 10 shots on goal. Soroka would finish the day with seven shots, five of which were on goal.
Following the win against Keene State on Wednesday, the Panthers faced NESCAC powerhouse Connecticut College in their first away game. Middlebury went down early in the game after Conn. College’s Astrid Kempainen finished a penalty kick 20 minutes into the game.
The Panthers continued to fight back throughout the game with a number of good attempts at the goal, but none were successful. Conn. College continued to pressure Middlebury throughout the game with Grace Bilodeau finishing a shot from 35 yards out, and Kempanien adding another goal in the 78th minute mark.
Middlebury goalkeeper Reinmuth finished by saving eight out of the 11 shots on goal, while Conn. College’s Bryanna Montalvo earned the win for the Camels with a tough 11-save shutout performance.
The Panthers took the lopsided loss despite having as many shots on goal as their opponent.
After last week’s mixed results, senior Carter Talgo ’15 spoke of significant rom for improvement for the team going forward.
“Whether its individual technical mistakes, tactical awareness, or capitalizing on goal scoring opportunities, we have a big week to prove we can achieve the goals we set for ourselves back in August,” Talgo said.
Back in action for a midweek out-of-conference matchup with regional rival Plattsburgh, the Panthers were able to get back on the winning track.
A goal from Adriana Gildner ’17 near the 80-minute mark was all that Middlebury needed to edge the Cardinals, as they were able to hold on for a tight 1-0 victory.
Reinmuth recorded a trio of saves in goal for Middlebury against Plattsburgh for her second shutout of the young season.
The loss to Middlebury also halted a four-game winning streak for Plattsburgh.
Standing at 3-2 overall and a surprising 0-2 in conference play, the Panthers face another tough NESCAC opponent this weekend in Bowdoin.
Coming off a pair of considerable conference wins over Wesleyan and Amherst, the undefeated Polar Bears will provide a stiff test for a Panther squad that needs a statement win to turn their season around in hopes of launching another postseason run in 2014.
(04/30/14 2:49pm)
Despite going on an early 6-0 run in the first half, the third-seeded Middlebury was upset by sixth-seeded Colby this past Saturday, April 26, in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC women’s lacrosse tournament. This is the second time that Middlebury has lost to the Mules this season, as Middlebury was outscored a week ago 14-11 in a regular-season matchup between the two teams.
Middlebury was first to score on Saturday with Laurel Pascal ’16 netting an unassisted goal two minutes into the game. Her goal initiated a six-goal scoring streak for Middlebury, of which Pascal scored four goals and Katie Ritter ’15 scored two. Colby remained silent on the offensive end until the last seven minutes of the opening half when Mule Sara Miller scored off of a pass from Alex Mintz. Miller’s goal began a late-half Colby run, with the Mules scoring five unanswered goals to make the score 6-5 in favor of Middlebury going into the second half.
Colby continued their run one minute into the second half, with Lindsey McKenna scoring off of a pass from Katharine Eddy to tie the game. Middlebury was able to stop the barrage with a goal from first-year Mary O’Connell ’17.
After another Colby goal from McKenna tied the game at seven, Middlebury was able to gain some traction with goals from Katie Ritter and Megan Griffin ’16.
This effort would not be enough, however, when Mule Sara Miller scored off of a free-position shot and started a four-goal scoring streak that left Colby up 11-9 with 2:18 left in the game. Though a goal from Middlebury’s Liza Herzog ‘14 with two minutes left in the game and a subsequent Middlebury possession gave the Panthers a chance with a minute remaining, they were unable to convert and Colby ran out the clock to win the game.
“We started out strong which is something we’ve been trying to do all season, and we got the ball back when we were down at the end and they were stalling – two amazing accomplishments for us,” said senior defender Hannah Deoul ’14.
Middlebury captain and goalkeeper Alyssa Palomba ’14 finished the day in goal with a save percentage of .352, stopping six of the 17 shots that Colby put on goal.
The Panthers vastly improved their clearing game from their last meeting with Colby, successfully clearing 17 of 21 clears, including all 13 of their attempts in the first half. Middlebury was also outshot on the game by a slight margin of 24-21 and controlled 10 of 21 draws.
Pascal and Ritter led the Panthers, finishing with five and four points respectively. Erin Benotti ’14, Herzog and Pascal each finished with three ground balls, helping the Panthers beat the Mules in the ground ball game by a score of 16-13.
While Colby will travel to Hartford, Conn. to play Trinity in the NESCAC semifinals, the future of Middlebury’s season remains uncertain. With their conference tournament coming to a premature end in the quarterfinal round, the Panthers will have to wait for the NCAA committee’s at-large selections to see if their season will continue in the national tournament.
The NCAA has taken four NESCAC teams each of the past several years, but the Panthers’ spot in that top four is far from assured after upset losses in two of their final three conference games. If they fail to make the top four, or if the committee decides to take only three teams from the conference, it would be the first time since 2010 that Middlebury has failed to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
(04/16/14 3:00pm)
After a string of key NESCAC wins last week, the Middlebury women’s lacrosse team fell to two top-ranked opponents this week: SUNY Cortland on Thursday, April 10 and Trinity on Saturday, April 12.
On Thursday the Panthers – going into the game ranked fifth in the nation – hosted second-ranked Cortland on Kohn Field. The game was a back and forth battle from the opening whistle. Cortland fired first with Red Dragon Erica Geremia scoring an unassisted goal two minutes into the game. Middlebury quickly responded with an unassisted goal from sophomore standout Laurel Pascal ’16. After another unassisted Red Dragon goal following Pascal’s, Middlebury went on a three-goal scoring streak. Pascal and Liza Herzog ’14 both finished goals off of passes from Katie Ritter ’15, and Chrissy Ritter ’16 scored off of a free position shot.
Cortland did not relent and answered with two goals to tie the game 4-4 with 13 minutes left in the half. After a scoreless 12 minutes Chrissy Ritter scored an unassisted goal to put the Panthers up 5-4 going into the half.
The second half began a game of runs for both teams with Middlebury maintaining the lead until Cortland’s Kristen Ohberg scored off of a pass from Emma Geremia to tie the game at 9-9 with 8:30 left to play.
Middlebury quickly answered Ohberg’s goal with Bridget Instrum ’16 scoring an unassisted goal a minute later. Her effort would not prove to be enough, however, as Cortland finished the game strong with a trio of goals to put the Red Dragons past the Panthers by a score of 12-10.
Katie Ritter led the Panther’s effort with four points off of two goals and two assists. Panther goalkeeper Alyssa Palomba ’14 finished the game with four saves over the course of the game.
The Panther defense suffered against Cortland because captain and stalwart defender Hannah Deoul ’14 was out with a concussion. Her role was filled by first-years Allie Hooley ’17 and Jessie Yorke ’17.
Despite the tough loss, the Panthers were forced to quickly regain focus in order to prepare for Saturday’s game against perennial NESCAC powerhouse Trinity College.
The Trinity game, like the Cortland game, was a 60-minute battle with both teams scoring back and forth until the final whistle. Middlebury was the first to fire with Instrum finishing a goal unassisted after a scoreless first four minutes of the game. This was followed by a three-goal streak by Trinity, only to be stopped by another unassisted goal from Instrum. Middlebury and Trinity would go goal for goal for the rest of the half. Megan Griffin ’16, Chrissy Ritter ’16 and Herzog each added a goal for Middlebury to make the score 5-6 in favor of Trinity going into the second half.
Middlebury quickly tied the game three minutes into the second half with Alli Sciarretta ’16 finishing a pass from Griffin. The goal-swapping continued with Middlebury’s taking the lead at one point off of a goal from Herzog to put the score at 8-7. Trinity responded with two goals with 20 minutes left in the half to make the score 8-9 in its favor. Chrissy Ritter was able to finish a pass from sister Katie with 11:38 left in the game, but this was not enough to stop the Bantams. Trinity’s Molly Cox scored her third of the day to put Trinity up 10-9 with 10:33 left in the game.
The Panther defense was again without Deoul against Trinity, but found leadership in Palomba who finished the game with 6 saves.
“I think we need to focus our attention on playing a full 60 minutes of Middlebury lacrosse and being mentally tough in those close games,” Katie Ritter said. “We learned a lot from these two games and now it’s about applying what we’ve learned and moving forward from there.”
On Tuesday, April 15, the Panthers played host to Union for a non-conference matchup, defeating the Dutchmen 15-8 on the strength of eight goals from Pascal.
Middlebury jumped out to a large early lead against Union, taking an 11-4 advantage into halftime. That margin would prove too much for Union to overcome.
Pascal’s scoring total, which came on just 10 shots, is the second largest single-game offensive output by any one player in program history, and the most since 1993.
The Panthers next square off with Colby on Saturday, April 19 on Kohn field. If they can get past the Mules, Middlebury will have a final shot to improve their seed for the upcoming NESCAC tournament when they travel to Williams the following week for the final game of the regular season.
(04/09/14 3:04pm)
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.
(03/19/14 3:05pm)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team continued its early-season success on Saturday, March 15, winning its home opener over Wesleyan by a score of 10-4.
After a scoreless first 12 minutes of the game, Liza Herzog ’14 broke the tie with a goal off of a free position shot. Wesleyan quickly struck back 12 seconds later off of an unassisted goal from Caitlin Daniels to tie the game up at 1-1.
After another respite in scoring action, Middlebury’s Laurel Pascal ’16 was finally able to finish an opportunity off of a pass from Herzog. This spark was followed by Middlebury goals from Alli Sciarretta ’16 with a free position shot and Mary O’Connell ’17 off of a pass from Bridget Instrum ’16.
Middlebury’s goals were quickly answered however off of a pair of goals from Wesleyan’s Meredith Smith to finish the half with a score of 4-3. With the momentum in its favor, Wesleyan came out firing and tied up the game at 4-4 off of another goal from Smith three minutes into the second half.
Tough defense, however, and key saves between the pipes from co-Captain Alyssa Palomba ’14 allowed the Panthers to withstand the Wesleyan offensive and turn the tide of the game in their favor with another goal from Pascal with 17 minutes left in the game. Pascal was able to follow that score up with two more finishes for the Panthers – one unassisted and one assisted by Katie Ritter ’15 – to put the Panthers up 7-4.
After Pascal’s goal, the Panthers kept the gas on the pedal and never looked back. Middlebury was able to keep the pressure on the Cardinals with two goals from Herzog and a goal from O’Connell, all of which were unassisted. By the final whistle, the Panthers had extended the lead to the final tally of 10-4.
“This week we really focused on our transitions and playing as a unit on attack, which we were able to translate to our game on Saturday,” Pascal said. “Everyone was making smart decisions all over the field and we were able to find the holes in their defense, which was awesome.”
Middlebury was paced on the offensive end by Pascal, who finished with four goals. Herzog finished with three goals and an assist, and first-year standout O’Connell added a pair of goals. Palomba finished the day in net with a 42.8 save percentage, recording three saves during the game.
Smith led the Cardinals with three goals. Wesleyan goalkeeper Nina Labovich helped keep the score relatively close by stopping 10 of the 20 shots on goal throughout the game.
Middlebury’s dominant offensive performance was representative on the stats sheet, as the Panthers outshot the Cardinals 26-13. Middlebury also held a slight advantage in ground balls and controlled 11 of 16 draws for the afternoon.
Middlebury returned to action on Tuesday, March 18, for a midweek matchup with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, defeating the host Engineers 11-8.
After RPI got on the scoreboard first, Middlebury responded with a pair of goals from Chrissy Ritter ’16 to take the lead. The Engineers then went on a four-goal scoring run to take a 4-3 lead midway through the first half, before a trio of Panther goals, including two from Pascal, put Middlebury in front going into the half.
In the second half, the Panthers used a flurry of scoring to extend their lead, ultimately going on to win.
Pascal led the Panthers with three goals in the game, with Katie Ritter, Chrissy Ritter and Herzog each adding two for Middlebury.
With the win over Rensselaer, Middlebury extends its record to 4-0 on the season, including a trio of conference wins. The Panthers return to the pitch on Saturday, March 22, for a conference matchup with Bowdoin. The Polar Bears are owners of a 3-2 record and should provide stiff competition for Middlebury.
Following that, the Panthers will travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. over Spring Break for a game against Rochester Institute of Technology before returning to face the remainder of their NESCAC schedule.
(03/12/14 2:25pm)
The women’s lacrosse team continued to demonstrate early-season dominance with a 12-4 victory over the Connecticut College Camels in New London, Conn. on Saturday, March 8. Despite letting up a goal early on in the game and being held scoreless for the first 10 minutes, the Panthers received the spark they needed at minute 20 and never looked back.
After an unassisted goal from Laurel Pascal ’16, Middlebury went on a 10-goal scoring streak that lasted well into the game’s second half. Within a minute and a half of Pascal’s goal, Middlebury was able to add two more to the tally with goals from Alli Sciarretta ’16 and Katie Ritter ’15, both of which were assisted by first-year attacker Mary O’Connell ’17. These goals were soon followed by a goal from senior Liza Herzog ’14 off of a free-position shot, and a goal from O’Connell off of a pass from Pascal.
The Panthers kept the momentum running in their favor going into the half with a goal from Sciarretta assisted again by O’Connell with 2:18 left in the opening period. Middlebury goalkeeper Alyssa Palomba ’14 held the Camels to just a single goal for the first half.
Herzog continued Middlebury’s scoring streak off an unassisted goal 30 seconds into the second half. This was followed by goals from Pascal, Ritter, and O’Connell to put the Panthers up 10-1.
The Panthers streak was ended by a free position shot from Conn. College’s Hanah Donegan.
Middlebury and Conn. College went on to trade goals to finish off the game. Connecticut’s Taylor Thomas added both of those last goals for the Camels, while Middlebury’s goals came from Cat Lincoln ’16, who scored off of a pass from Bridget Instrum ’16.
O’Connell led the Panthers on the day, finishing with a pair of goals and a trio of assists, followed by Pascal who finished with three goals and one assist.
Palomba held down the defense with five saves off of nine shots. Despite letting up three goals in the second half, the Middlebury defense was very strong, letting up only three shots in the first half.
Middlebury out-shot Conn. College 23-14, but was interestingly bested in in ground balls by the Camels 8-10. The Panthers also controlled 12 of the game’s 18 draws in order to gain an edge on the offensive end.
Lincoln commented on the team’s winning effort.
“Everything we have been working on particularly since Tufts really came together and we played successfully as a unit,” Lincoln said. “We’re excited for Wesleyan on Saturday and are ready to play our best on our home field.”
Lincoln finished with one goal on the day.
Middlebury will have an entire week to prepare for Wesleyan next Saturday, March 15, in its home opener at 11 a.m. on Kohn Field.
After tying for last place in the NESCAC a year ago, the Cardinals have started off the 2014 season with a record of 1-2, with both losses coming in conference play.
After torching their first two NESCAC opponents of the young season, the Panthers will look to keep their record unblemished against the underdog Cardinals.
(03/05/14 11:33pm)
The women’s lacrosse team came out firing Saturday in their season opener against Tufts, outscoring their opponent 10-2 in the first half of the game, beating Tufts by a final score of 12-8. Middlebury’s first half scoring barrage was initiated by transfer Bridget Instrum ’16 within the first minute of the game.
After giving up one goal to Jumbo Kali Digate, Middlebury began an uncontested eight goal scoring run after a goal from sophomore Laurel Pascal ’16 off of a free position shot. This scoring run included two goals from Liza Herzog ’14, a second goal each from Pascal and Instrum, and goals from Katie Ritter ’15, Ali Sciarretta ’16, and Delaina Smith ’17.
With 2:17 to go in the first half the Panthers let in another goal to Digate, but quickly responded with an unassisted goal from Chrissy Ritter ’16 just before the end of the half.
Despite the momentum favoring the Panthers going into halftime, Middlebury came out flat for the second half and allowed Tufts back into the game by allowing five consecutive goals from various members of the Tufts offense in the first 15 minutes after the break. However, an unassisted goal from Herzog, followed by a goal off of a free position shot from Katie Ritter, gave the Panthers what they needed to withstand the Tufts comeback.
Herzog led the Panthers in points, finishing the day with three goals and an assist, followed by Pascal who finished with two goals and an assist.
Middlebury’s seasoned defensive unit of Hannah Deoul ’14, Erin Benotti ’14, Catherine Fowler ‘15 and Maggie Caputi ’16 helped lock down the Tufts offensive and limit the Jumbos’ scoring. Benotti led the team in ground balls, finishing with four in the game.
Middlebury’s performance could also significantly be attributed to co-captain Alyssa Palomba’s ’14 strong play in the net. Palomba finished with 10 saves on the day, many of which were in close and in key moments during the game.
Co-captain Deoul admitted that the team has a long way to go if it wants to meet its goals for this season.
“We are really happy with how we played against a tough opponent,” Deoul said, “However, after Saturday’s game we realized we have a lot to learn. We witnessed this as we tried to switch around with our defense in the second half and let Tufts back into the game...We’re really excited about this season as I think we have a lot of things going well for us.”
After a week of practice, the Panther’s ability to learn and improve will be tested next Saturday, March 8, when they will face off against Connecticut College in New London, CT. The Camels, who finished in last place in the NESCAC last season with a record of 1-9, will look to give the Panthers a better game than they did in 2013.
(05/09/13 3:40am)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team fell short of the NESCAC championship in a nail-biting, overtime tournament final, falling to Trinity this past Sunday in Hartford, by a score of 8-7.
After a come-from-behind win against Colby on Saturday in the NESCAC semifinals, winning by a score of 11-10, the Panthers had to quickly recover and prepare for their matchup against Trinity, who prior to the game was ranked first in the nation.
The Panthers came out flat in the beginning of the first half, allowing five unanswered goals within the first 20 minutes of game play. Middlebury’s effort was jump-started after back-to-back goals from Emma Kramer ’13, both of which were assisted by Liza Herzog ’14. These goals were followed up with a goal from Katie Ritter ’15 off of a feed from Ellen Halle ’13 to make the score 5-3 at the end of the second half.
After a scoreless 10 minutes to start the second half, Middlebury’s Alice Pfeiffer ’13 found the net off a feed from Kramer. Pfeiffer’s goal was answered by a pair of Trinity goals to make the score 7-4 with 18 minutes to play.
The late-game Panther comeback was initiated by Halle with 13 minutes to go. Her goal was followed by a goal from Laurel Pascal ’16, and a game-tying goal with 4:30 left to play from Kramer off of a feed from Herzog.
The game then went to overtime and, after a missed shot by Trinity’s Hadley Duncan and a save from Trinity’s Olivia Whitney, Bantam Caroline Hayes was able to send one past goalkeeper Alyssa Palomba ’14 on a free position shot, scoring the winning goal with 1:37 left in the overtime period.
Herzog, who finished the day with four assists, led Middlebury’s effort along with Kramer who also finished with four points off of three goals and an assist. Halle added a goal and assist for the Panthers, while Pfeiffer, Katie Ritter and Pascal each added a goal of their own for the Panthers. Palomba , who played the entire game in net, finished with seven saves on 15 shots faced.
Kramer commented on the team’s performance against Trinity.
“It was a really tough loss because we played so hard and came so close but in the end it can only make us stronger,” she said. “After a slow start, we learned that we need to be able to put a full 60-minute game together.”
With the loss, the Panthers fall to 15-2 overall on the season, with both losses coming by one goal on the road at Trinity.
Despite falling to Trinity, Middlebury’s strong play throughout the season earned them an at-large bid for the upcoming NCAA tournament, as well as home-field advantage in the tournament’s regional round.
Kramer spoke about the team’s prospects in the national tournament.
“We are really excited to host the first round and hopefully regionals next weekend,” she said. “We also hope that we get another shot at Trinity.”
Given that Trinity is on the other side of the NCAA bracket, Middlebury will have to make it to the finals if the Panthers want another shot at defeating the Bantams.
The tournament begins Wednesday, May 8, when the Panthers matchup against in-state foe Castleton State at 5 p.m. on Kohn Field.
(05/01/13 8:11pm)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team kicked off its postseason this weekend with a quarterfinal matchup against the Bates Bobcats on Saturday, April 27. Coming off a 16-5 win against Williams in their last regular season game, the Panthers continued their tenacious play against Bates on Saturday, winning by a score of 16-7.
Middlebury came out firing early on, scoring six goals and allowing only one Bates goal in the first 15 minutes of play. In the first half, Middlebury was led by three of their talented seniors, Michaela Colbert ’13, Ellen Halle ’13 and Emma Kramer ’13. By the end of the first half, Kramer and Halle had each recorded three goals and an assist and Colbert had added a pair of goals.
After a Panther goal with eight seconds remaining in the first half from Katie Ritter ’15, Middlebury led Bates by a score of 9-3.
Although the Bobcats went goal-for-goal with the Panthers in the first 12 minutes of second-half play, the Panthers quickly went on their final run of the game, scoring six of the final eight goals.
Apart from goals from both Kramer and Halle at the beginning of the half, the majority of the Panthers’ second-half effort was shared by a number of other Panther players.
Alice Pfeifer ’13, Laurel Pascal ’16, Liza Herzog ’14, Chrissy Ritter ’14 and Katie Ritter ’15 each put up a goal in the game’s final 20 minutes.
Sophomore midfielder Lexi Demarco ’15 commented on the team’s performance against Bates.
“We were well prepared to handle Bates’ style of play,” said Demarco. “We played our game with constant energy and intensity, jumping on the Bobcats early. Our attack was confident and handled the ball well while our defense was relentless and prevented Bates from driving to the net.”
Alyssa Palomba ’14 played 55 minutes for the Panthers and stopped eight shots before being relieved by Katie Mandigo ’16, who recorded one save over the game’s final five minutes.
The Panthers held a 17-14 advantage in ground balls and a 33-19 edge in shots over the Bobcats, giving them the edge throughout the game in the offensive zone. Middlebury also controlled the draw battle, winning 14 of 25 draws on the day.
This coming weekend the Panthers will travel down to Hartford, Conn., where Trinity will host the NESCAC Semifinals and Finals on Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5. The Panthers are matched up against eighth-ranked Colby, while Trinity will play Hamilton in the other semifinal matchup.
Middlebury dominated Colby in the teams’ first matchup on April 20, winning 14-6.
Middlebury will have to continue their strong play against a talented Colby squad – which enters the game with a two-game winning streak – if the Panthers are going to keep their goal of a NESCAC title alive.
“Next week should be a great game against Colby,” said Demarco. “If we stick to our game plan and play as well as we did in our game against them in the regular season, we hopefully will move on to NESCAC finals for a shot at the title.”
(04/25/13 12:59am)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team displayed its NESCAC and Division III dominance this past Saturday in Waterville, Maine, in its highly anticipated match up against sixth-ranked Colby College. The women came home with a convincing 14-6 win.
The Panthers came out strong early on in the game, scoring six of their 11 first-half goals within the first seven minutes of game play.
Middlebury’s commanding offensive play was supplemented with impenetrable defensive play, allowing only four shots, all of which were blocked. After a dominant first half, the Panthers experienced a slight lull, letting in three consecutive goals after Ellen Halle’s ’13 goal in the start of the second half. Despite this, Middlebury was able to hold off this late game surge, with goals from Liza Herzog ’14 and Laurel Pascal ’16, and a defensive effort that allowed Colby only three goals in the final minutes of the game.
Halle and Margaret Souther ’13 led the Panthers in points with Halle finishing with four goals and an assist, and Souther finishing with two goals and three assists. Pascal and junior Herzog finished with three goals each, while Chrissy Ritter ’16 and Michaela Colbert ’13 each finished with a goal. Emma Kramer ’13, Alice Pfeifer ’13 and defensemen Catherine Fowler ’15 each finished with an assist in the game.
The Panthers outshot the Mules by a count of 23-6 in the first half. This gap however, was somewhat lessened by the Mules second-half effort to bring the shot count to 30-22 in favor of the Panthers. Middlebury and Colby remained nearly even in the draw game, with Middlebury out-drawing the Mules 12-10. Souther led Middlebury in the ground ball battle, finishing with four of Middlebury’s 19 ground balls, over Colby’s 16 ground balls.
Lindsey Mckenna of Colby led the Mule’s second half effort, scoring the first four of Colby’s six goals in the second half.
Alyssa Palmoba ’14 displayed her dominance in the net, finishing with eight saves and only six goals against.
Given Colby’s high national ranking, this commanding win for Middlebury is evidence that the team is well prepared for NESCAC playoffs which begin next Saturday, April 27. This win comes after the team’s disappointing first loss of the season last Saturday, April 13, against Tufts. With a squad of highly skilled, veteran seniors that continue to lead the team in points every game and a substantial number of prolific young players, the Panthers have the potential to go far both in the NESCAC and national tournament.
Middlebury, who after this game is 12-1 overall and 8-1 in the NESCAC will ended their regular season schedule this Wednesday, April 24th at home against Williams College, who is 8-6 overall and 3-6 in the NESCAC conference.
(04/17/13 11:37pm)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season this past Saturday, April 13 against top-ranked Trinity College. Middlebury fell to the Bantams by a score of 10-9 in a nail-biting game that was tied at nine going into the last two minutes of play. On Tuesday, April 16 the team defeated Union College by a score of 19-9.
The Bantams came out firing early on in the first half, notching two goals for a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Following a goal from Emma Kramer ’13, Trinity added two more markers to extend their lead to 4-1 at the 17:22 mark. Middlebury kept pace with the Bantams’ high-powered offense, however, with three goals coming from Laurel Pascal ’16, Ellen Halle ’13 and Liza Herzog ’14 to keep the Panthers trailing by a manageable 7-4 going into the second half.
Trinity ramped up the pressure on Middlebury early in the second half, with the score moving to 9-5 with 17 minutes left in the game. Then, two goals from Alice Pfeiffer ’13 gave the Panther offense the spark it needed to mount a comeback. After Pfeiffer’s two goals, Kramer netted two more to tie the game at 9-9 with five minutes left in game play.
Despite the late-game run, Middlebury’s comeback was thwarted with 1:53 remaining off of a crease-shot from Trinty’s Shea Kusiak.
Kramer, who finished the game with three goals, led Middlebury’s offensive effort against Trinity. Kramer’s performance was supported by two goals and an assist finish from Pfeiffer, three helpers from Margaret Souther ’13, and two points from Pascal. Halle, Herzog and Katie Ritter ’15 each added a goal while Chrissy Ritter ’16 added an assist for the Panthers. Alyssa Palomba ‘14, who played all 60 minutes for the Panthers, finished the game with six saves.
The Panthers were out-shot by the Bantams by a count of 19-17. Middlebury and Trinity were relatively even in the ground ball and draw matchups, with both teams scooping 16 loose balls, and Middlebury edging the draw battle at 11-10.
Halle reflected on her team’s uneven showing.
“We have moments of brilliance, but couldn’t string a full game together,” she said. “Alyssa was key in goal with really important saves, and Emma and Alice sparked an awesome comeback that fell short.”
Trinity, after defeating Middlebury, remains undefeated with a record of 11-0 overall, 7-0 in the NESCAC, while Middlebury drops to 10-1 overall, including a 7-1 mark in the NESCAC.
Halle also put the loss in perspective of the team’s push for the postseason.
“Unfortunately the end result wasn’t what we had hoped for as we were really geared towards beating Trinity,” said Halle. “We definitely had a lot of takeaways from the game that we’ll look to improve upon as we wrap up the season. A loss can sometimes be healthy as it just adds fuel to the fire. This in no way deflects from how incredible our season has been and were excited to keep pushing ourselves for NESCACs.”
This past Tuesday, the women came out in full force against Union College. Despite trading goals with Union for the first six minutes of the first period, the Panthers went on two five-goal scoring streaks, with one goal from Union’s Brittany Fraser in between, to end the first period ahead 12-3.
Union, however, was ableto close the goal differential by scoring three consecutive goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Tough Middlebury defense, and a spark from Ali Sciaretta’s ’16 goal off of Megan Griffin’s ’16 feed sparked another five-goal streak of Middlebury scoring to give the Panthers a substantial lead over the Dutchmen.
Middlebury will play Colby this coming Saturday, April 20, followed by Williams next Wednesday, April 24 in its regular season game.
(04/10/13 9:57pm)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team has continued to dominate every opponent they match up against, holding a record of 10-0 after two NESCAC victories over Amherst and Tufts this past weekend, April 6 and 7.
Middlebury has had a packed schedule over the last two weeks with wins in four spring break games against Wesleyan, Gettysburg, Stevens Institute and Bowdoin. The Gettysburg and Bowdoin wins were particularly key for the Panthers, as both opponents entered ranked in the national top 10.
Despite their grueling schedule over break, the Panthers returned to beat Hamilton before defeating Amherst by a score of 13-4 and Tufts by a score of 15-8.
Middlebury was led against Amherst by Katie Ritter ’15, who netted three goals on the day. Michaela Colbert ’13, Ellen Halle ’13 and Laurel Pascal ’16 each added two goals in the win.
Middlebury’s offense got out to a quick start early, jumping to a 5-0 lead. From that point, however, it was the Panther defense which stepped up to assure the victory. Hannah Deoul ‘14, Heather Marrison ’13, Chrissy Ritter ’16 and Neile Weeks ’13 each contributed to the defense’s stellar performance, while goalie Alyssa Palomba ‘14 recorded three saves.
“One thing we have been working on has been our re-defend which we executed well especially on Saturday, one time ending up in a beautiful goal from Emma Kramer [’13] and Ellen Halle,” said Margaret Souther ’13.
Middlebury tied Amherst for the day on ground balls, but were able to outshoot their opponent 31-12. Middlebury was able to dominate draws throughout the game, winning 14 of 18. The Panthers also completed 70 percent of their clears, making it easy for them to gain possession of the ball on Amherst’s half of the field and allowing them to work their offense.
After dominating Amherst, Middlebury quickly reloaded and triumphed over Tufts the following day by a score of 15-8. The Panthers jumped out to an 8-5 halftime lead, but quickly separated themselves from the Jumbos by scoring the first seven goals of the second half.
Kramer finished with four goals against Tufts, while Halle and Pascal each finished with three goals and an assist. Palomba recorded five saves in 50 minutes of play, before being relieved by Katie Mandigo ’16, who recorded a save in the game’s final 10 minutes.
The Panthers dominated Tufts in the faceoff circle, grabbing 18 of 24 draws in the game to keep their momentum going in the second half. Middlebury was near perfect in clearing against Tufts, successfully clearing 15 of 16 attempts.
“Both Amherst and Tufts are always great opponents, but we showed how much depth we have with our multiple scorers and assisters,” said Souther. “Liza Herzog [’14] was incredible on the draw for both games while Heather Marrison and Hannah Deoul made some key defensive blocks to keep the score low.”
Herzog was named NESCAC Player of the Week for her performance in both games during the weekend.
The Panthers have a brief respite this week, playing their next scheduled game on the road at Trinity on Saturday, April 13. The Bantams are currently ranked second in the national poll.
“Our team is very confident. We will have some things to work on in practice this week but should be 100 percent ready to win on Saturday,” said Souther.
(03/20/13 8:57pm)
The Middlebury women’s lacrosse team continued their trend of dominance this past Saturday, March 16, riding a first-half scoring streak to a huge lead against Connecticut College and never looking back en route to an 18-3 victory.
The Panthers, who went into the weekend ranked fifth nationally, took down the Camels by a score of 18-3. With this win the Panthers hold a record of 2-0 overall (2-0 in conference) after handily defeating their first two opponents of the young season.
Emma Kramer ’13 opened the scoring for Middlebury with a goal in the game’s second minute to give the Panthers the early lead. After a Camel equalizing goal, Chrissy Ritter ’16 put the Panthers back up with a goal of her own.
The Camels were able to retie the score at 2-2 with 10 minutes elapsed in the half before Middlebury went on a run of nine consecutive unanswered goals. During this run – which covered nearly 20 minutes – six different Panthers added goals to give Middlebury an 11-2 lead. A Camel goal in the half’s final 10 seconds made the score 11-3 going into the break.
Michaela Colbert ’13 tallied her third goal of the game to open the second half for Middlebury. The Panther defense – led by Margaret Souther ’13 and Maggie Caputi ’16 – smothered the Conn. College attack for much of the second half, holding them scoreless on just two shots. Alli Sciaretta ’16 recorded the Panthers’ final goal of the game to run the score to 18-3.
In addition to Colbert’s trio of goals, Ellen Halle ’13 contributed two goals and four assists to the win. Halle currently leads the team in points with 14 points over two games.
Overall, the Panthers overwhelmed the Camels with a barrage of offense, recording 35 shots in the game – including 21 in the first half alone – while the Camels managed just eight shots of their own. Middlebury also held a stark advantage in draw controls while recording fewer penalties during the game.
Goalie Alyssa Palomba ’14 came up big as well for the Panthers in the limited number of times that she was needed, stopping four of the six shots she faced in the game.
“It was another great team win, with lots of players contributing all over the field,” said Halle. “Defensively we were fantastic the second half, and offensively we were able to score off many of the different plays and sets that we have been practicing. While we should have some tough games coming up this week, the true test for our team will come next Monday when we play Gettysburg who we beat last spring to advance to the final four.”
The Panthers return to competition this Saturday, March 23, with a NESCAC road game against Wesleyan. The Cardinals – owners of a 1-3 record this year – finished 11th in the conference a year ago.
Middlebury then goes on the road to Gettysburg, Stevens Institute and Bowdoin during the week as part of their annual spring break trip.
(03/13/13 11:50pm)
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.