5/1/04 - For the fourth consecutive year, Middlebury will meet Amherst in the championship game of the NESCAC women's lacrosse tournament. The Panthers earned the right with a hard-fought 9-7 win over Bowdoin in the semifinals on Kohn Field. Amherst advanced with a 19-10 win over Williams.
Colleen McDonald gave Bowdoin a 1-0 lead at the 23:02 mark before the Panthers tied the game at 21:56 with a goal from Kim Walker. Bowdoin keeper Kendall Cox then made a pair of great saves on Middlebury free position shots to keep the score at 1-1. The Panthers were finally able to solve Cox, as they netted three goals in a 42-second span to take a 4-1 lead with 9:58 left to play in the first half. Claire Edelen assisted on the first goal, before scoring the next two off the face-offs. Bowdoin scored a pair of goals in 1:04, cutting the lead to 4-3 at the 7:40 mark. Walker's second goal of the game with 1:01 left, gave Middlebury a 5-3 halftime lead.

Middlebury slowly increased the lead in the second half, with four different goal scorers tallying to give the Panthers a 9-3 lead with 13:30 remaining. Bowdoin answered with a pair in 45 seconds, both by Angela King, to make it a 9-5 game with 7:21 left to play. McDonald cut the lead to 9-6 at the 2:17 mark, before Hilary Abrams made it a two-goal game with 1:36 remaining. The Polar Bears had a few shots to come within one late in the game, but the Middlebury defense held.

Michele Bergofsky, Edelen and Walker led the Panthers with two goals apiece on the day. McDonald scored three for the Polar Bears, while Abrams and King netted two each. Sarah Grenert made seven saves for Middlebury, while Cox stopped 14 shots.