The top-ranked Middlebury women's lacrosse team overcame a pair of three-goal deficits to edge #11 Wesleyan 12-11 on Saturday. Niki Mormile tallied the game-winner with two minutes left on the clock and goalie Annie Enrietto came up big with a save in the waning seconds to hold off the Cardinals (8-2, 3-2). The victory marked the 36th straight for the Panthers (11-0, 6-0) and 18th-consecutive triumph on Kohn Field. Middlebury returns to its home turf on Sunday, hosting #12 Hamilton at 1:00 p.m. 
 
The hard rain and slick conditions did not phase Wesleyan in the opening quarter, as it rattled off three-straight goals to start the game. Olivia Lai got things going at the 13:11 mark when she bounced in a free-position marker, before Kate Balicki spun around a defender and slung a sidearm shot into the goal with just under 10 minutes to go in the stanza. After causing a turnover and scooping up the loose ball, Lai raced down the field and connected with Laura Blaine to make it 3-0 in favor of the Cardinals. The Panthers answered with 5:44 showing on the clock. Jane Earley sent a pass from the left side of the crease to Maggie Coughlin on the right who fired the ball into the left panel. Middlebury cut the deficit to one (3-2) at the 4:14 mark when Kelcey Dion converted a free-position attempt. Wesleyan responded with a free-position marker by Lai to extend the lead to 4-2, but the Panthers tallied three-straight goals to close out the half and take their first advantage of the game. Erin Nicholas found a cutting Susan Rowley to make it 4-3 with 2:43 to go. Dion received a pass from Mormile, spun around and used a reverse stick shot to knot the game 4-4. Anna Spehr tallied a free-position goal with just four seconds remaining to give Middlebury a 5-4 edge. 
 
With 12:49 left in the second frame, Grace Getman converted a free-position attempt from the top of the circle to make it 6-4. Less than a minute later, Wesleyan's Balicki caught a high pass from Lai in the middle and tucked the ball just under the crossbar to cut the Middlebury lead down to one (6-5). The Panthers answered with a free-position shot by Earley to increase the advantage to 7-5, before the Cardinals tallied two-straight goals to tie the game at 7-7. Balicki slipped the ball just past Enrietto's shoulder, before a low, sidearm shot by Lai skipped on the slick field and trickled into the goal with 5:49 showing on the clock. The final minutes of the half saw two strong defensive performances, as the teams headed into the break deadlocked at 7-7.
 
Wesleyan started the second half much like the first, tallying three-straight goals for its second three-goal lead of the game. Balicki tucked a free-position attempt inside the left pipe to make it 8-7 with 13:18 left in the third stanza. Nearly three minutes later, an initial shot by Balicki hit the pipe, but Kaitlyn McMullan was there to scoop up the loose ball and score a quick marker. Erin Trotta caused a turnover in the Middlebury defensive end and tossed the ball across the field. The wind carried it, but Balicki tracked it down and scored for the 10-7 advantage. The Panthers cut the deficit to one (10-9) with back-to-back goals. Earley found the back of the net through traffic, before Rowley scored during an extra player situation with 5:25 remaining. The Cardinals looked to take a two-goal edge with 4:25 left on the clock, but Abby Logan's shot from point-blank range was denied by Enrietto.
 
Trailing 11-9 in the final frame, Hope Shue converted back-to-back free position tallies to make it 11-11 with 6:27 to go. The golden goal came with exactly two minutes left in regulation. Lily Riseberg found Mormile in the middle, before Mormile lifted the ball over the shoulder of goalie Corin Grady to give Middlebury a 12-11 edge. Wesleyan had a final chance to tie the contest and send it into overtime with just 13 ticks left on the clock, but Enrietto thwarted Balicki's attempt to secure the win for the Panthers. 
 
Enrietto improved to 11-0 in goal for Middlebury, making nine stops during the win. Abby Wolk made two stops during the opening 18:06, while Corin Grady suffered the loss with seven saves for the Cardinals.
 
Offensively, the Panthers were paced by Earley (2G, 1A) and Riseberg (3A), while Dion, Mormile, Rowley and Shue each tallied a pair of goals. Earley and Nicholas each won four draw controls.
 
Lai led all players with six points, while Balicki was right behind with five. The duo each scored four goals, while Lai had a pair of assists and Balicki dished out one. Gil Horst and Indigo Pelligrini de Paur won five draw controls, while Trotta tallied a game-high five caused turnovers.