Sarah Lux scored the winning goal with 12.3 seconds left in the second overtime as eighth-ranked Colby won a thrilling 11-10 game over 12th-ranked Middlebury on Saturday at Bill Alfond Field. The Mules move to 7-1 overall and 3-1 in the NESCAC, while the Panthers fall to 6-1 overall and also 3-1 in league action.
With inclement weather pushing the noon start time to 4:00 p.m., Middlebury held leads of 3-1 and 6-3 in the first half, as Sally Ryan scored two Panther goals. Kate Pistel's four goals led the Colby comeback as the Mules netted the final five goals of the half, taking an 8-6 lead at intermission.
The Mules led 9-6 after Pistel scored off a free-position shot with 27:24 to play in the second half. Middlebury tightened up defensively after that and scored the final three goals of regulation play. Dani DeMarco scored about two minutes after Pistel's goal, Margaret Souther tallied off a free-position shot with 18:22 to play. Neile Weeks tied the game at 9-9 with 11:12 left.
After neither team could score the rest of the way in regulation, Ryan broke the tie for Middlebury in the first overtime with 1:17 to play. The first overtime in women's lacrosse features two three-minute periods. If the game is tied at the end of these two periods, the ensuing overtimes follow sudden death, first-goal wins rules. Lux had the assist on Colby's tying goal with 36 seconds left in the second extended period, as Casey Thomas took a feed from Lux, raced in a few steps, and scored the equalizer.
In the sudden death second overtime period, Lux, who also had three assists on the day, ripped a high shot past Middlebury goaltender Lily Nguyen for the game-winner with 12.3 seconds left.
The story for Middlebury was Nguyen, who made a career-best 18 saves to keep her team in the contest. She made nine stops in the second half and three in the overtime periods, with many of them coming off difficult stops. Ryan finished with three goals and a pair of draw controls for Middlebury. Souther also had two goals, while Ellen Halle had one goal and one assist. Hannah Deoul, who had three groundballs and two caused turnovers, and Michaela Colbert also scored for the Panthers.
With Colby's leading scorer Claire Donegan sidelined, Pistel paced the Mules with four goals. Lux added three assists to go with her game-winner, while Katharine Eddy had a pair of goals, won a game-high six draw controls, and caused two turnovers. Lindsey McKenna, Anne Geraghty, and Hilary Barr also had goals for Colby. Sarah Warnke made 10 saves for the Mules, who converted on 5-for-10 on free-position shots.
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