Fourth-ranked Tufts tallied two goals in the final five minutes of the contest, but the #1 Middlebury women's lacrosse team held off the Jumbos for a tight 14-13 victory.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The first quarter belonged to Panther Susan Rowley and Tufts' Allie Zorn who each scored a pair of markers. 
• Trailing 3-2 with 13 seconds remaining in the stanza, Hope Shue barrelled through the defense and slotted her shot into the upper right corner to knot the contest.
• Middlebury carried that momentum into the second quarter, rattling off five unanswered goals to start the frame. Rowley sparked the run at the 13:39 mark, scooping up a groundball and finding nylon with just three seconds left on the shot clock. Kate Motley closed out the scoring frenzy with back-to-back markers for the 9-3 lead.
• The Jumbos responded with a pair of goals by Margie Carden, cutting the deficit down to four (9-5).
• With exactly one minute left until halftime, Kelcey Dion dished a nice feed from behind the goal to Niki Mormile who quickly scored to push the Panther's advantage to 10-5 at the break.
• Tufts came out of the intermission strong, scoring five-consecutive goals while keeping the visitors off the scoreboard. Ella Lesperance capped the run with 57 seconds remaining, finding space over the left shoulder of goalie Gina Driscoll to knot the contest at 10-10.
• The teams traded the opening markers of the final frame, before a trio of Middlebury tallies gave the Panthers a 14-11 edge. 
• The Jumbos answered with a pair of goals, slicing the lead to one (14-13) with just 2:24 remaining in the contest.
• With less than a minute to go, Tufts had a chance for the equalizer after causing a turnover in its defensive end and grabbing the loose ball. Lesperance took her shot, but  Driscoll denied the attacker with a clutch save.
• The Panthers took a timeout, and were able to successfully clear the ball to hang on for the 14-13 win. 

NOTES

• The victory was Middlebury's 40th straight, with its last loss coming at the hands of the Jumbos in the 2022 NESCAC Championship contest.
• With nine draw controls wins, Caroline Adams moves into a tie for fifth place in the Panther's career record book with 178 total.
• Driscoll tallied six saves during the victory, tying her career high.
• Middlebury and Tufts played for the 30th time, with the Panthers earning their 25th triumph over the Jumbos.

Middlebury is back in action on Sunday, hosting Hamilton at 12:00 p.m. on Peter Kohn Field.