The top-ranked Middlebury women's lacrosse team outscored #7 Tufts by a 7-3 count in the second half on Saturday at Bello Field, as the Panthers earned a 14-7 NESCAC victory over the Jumbos (6-2, 2-2) in a top-10 contest. The Panthers (9-0, 5-0) return to action on Tuesday with a 6:00 p.m. game at Union.
Susan Rowley opened the scoring for the Panthers at the 10:57 mark of the first quarter, as she worked from left to right, firing a shot over Tufts goalie Molly Laliberty's shoulder. The Jumbos tied the game at 1-1 four minutes later when Caroline Conaghan battled her way toward the goal and fired a shot to the upper-left corner. Tufts took a 2-1 lead when Claire Wright bounced a shot into the bottom-left corner with 4:05 left on a free-position attempt. The Panthers knotted the score at 2-2 with less than a minute to play in the quarter, as Rowley scored on a shoestring shot. After winning the draw control,
Jane Earley dodged from the left, tallying a goal with 17.3 seconds left for a 3-2 Middlebury edge after one quarter.
Earley gave the Panthers a 4-2 advantage with 10:02 left in the second frame, dodging from the right and scoring over Laliberty in the upper-right corner. Earley made it 5-2 just 46 seconds later on a free-position shot. The teams traded goals over the remainder of the first half, as
Grace Getman and Rowley tallied for the visitors, while Genna Gibbons and Conaghan scored for the Jumbos for a 7-4 Panther lead at the half.
After the break,
Hope Shue scored for Middlebury at the 12:48 mark of the third stanza. The Panthers took advantage of a Jumbo penalty with an extra player in the offensive zone, as
Niki Mormile found the back of the net at 8:37 and Shue tallied 55 seconds later for a 10-4 advantage. Tufts sliced the lead to four behind scores by Mae Briody at 5:45 and Caroline Walter 42 seconds later while a player up to move to within 10-6 headed to the fourth quarter.
In the final stanza, goals by Middlebury's
Maggie Coughlin (13:40) and
Anna Spehr (8:33) moved the Panther edge back to six (12-6). Emma Joyce scored for the Jumbos on a bouncing shot with 7:13 left, but the Panther defense clamped down and held the hosts scoreless over the remaining play. Goals from Spehr and Getman for Middlebury over the final minutes propelled the visitors to a 14-7 win.
Earley paced a balanced Panther offense with four points (3G, A), Rowley added three scores, while Shue, Getman and Spehr each finished with a pair of goals.
Erin Nicholas and
Kelcey Dion both tallied two assists.
Erica Barr claimed seven draw controls for Middlebury, while Shue collected four.
Annie Enrietto (9-0) earned the win in front of the Panther net with 10 saves, including seven stops after halftime.
Conaghan ended the contest with two goals and an assist for the Jumbos, while Briody and Clare Wright each scored a goal and assisted on another. Anna Clarke finished with seven draw controls, while Madison Lehan had three caused turnovers. Laliberty (6-2) made seven saves for the Jumbos.
