The top-seeded Middlebury women's lacrosse team (16-0) cruised to a 20-2 victory over eighth-seeded Amherst (9-7) in NESCAC Quarterfinal action on Saturday. The win marked the 41st-straight triumph for the Panthers and 21st in a row on Kohn Field. Middlebury will host the remainder of the conference tournament next weekend, taking on fourth-seeded Wesleyan in semifinal action on Saturday at noon. 
 
The Panthers got off to a quick start, rattling off four-consecutive goals to start the game. Susan Rowley got things going at the 13:18 mark when she converted a free-position marker, before Grace Getman lofted a shot into the top-left corner. Rowley struck again with exactly 10 minutes left on the clock, followed by a quick-stick goal from Jane Earley for the 4-0 lead. Amherst broke up the Panther scoring streak with 5:20 left in the quarter when Sydney Larsen drove straight to the goal and found the upper-right corner. Middlebury responded with a quartet of tallies to close out the final five minutes of the stanza. Earley took advantage of a Mammoth turnover and quickly found the back of the net, before Hope Shue got in the scoring column, sandwiched between a pair of Rowley goals for the 8-1 advantage.
 
With 38 seconds expired in the second frame, Rowley scored on a dish from Lily Riseberg. At the 10:36 mark, Riseberg sent a pass to Shue from behind the net, before Shue maneuvered a shot around a defender for the 10-1 lead. The Panthers forced running time thanks to a 10-goal lead with 3:23 to go in the half when Madeline Riordan converted a free-position marker with an extra-player advantage to make it 11-1 at the break.
 
Middlebury tallied five goals in the third quarter, increasing the advantage to 16-1. Erin Nicholas, Getman and Shue scored in the opening five minutes. Sara Ellinghaus made her presence known just seconds after entering the game, assisting on Rowley's sixth goal of the contest. Riseberg closed out the scoring with 1:36 left on the clock with a diving shot.
 
Shue increased the lead to 17-1 when she weaved around a few Mammoth defenders and found the back of the goal. Marina Bevacqua cut the deficit to 17-2 when she drove to the goal and buried the ball in the bottom-left corner. Middlebury's Abby Hillebrecht, Shue and Maggie Coughlin each scored in the final 10 minutes to make it a 20-2 final score.
 
Gina Driscoll improved to 5-0 in goal for the Panthers, making three saves during the contest. Caroline Stole suffered the loss, recording five stops during the opening 27:29, while Caroline Fischer made one save in the final 32:31. 
 
Rowley led all players with a career-best six goals, while Shue had five markers during the win. Riseberg dished out a game-high four assists, moving into third on Middlebury's single-season list with 39, while also scoring a pair of tallies. Erica Barr led all players in draw controls (six) and caused turnovers (four), while Chloe Newman scooped up a game-high four groundballs for the Panthers.
 
Today marks the second-largest win margin over Amherst in program history, with the first coming in the series opener during the 1976-77 season when Middlebury won 20-0. Saturday's goal total was the third time the Panthers have reached the 20-goal plateau against the Mammoths.