The #1/top-seeded Middlebury women's lacrosse team saw its 67-game unbeaten streak come to an end, falling 13-10 to #6/fifth-seeded Wesleyan in the NESCAC Semifinals. The Cardinals move on to the championship bout on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. on Peter Kohn Field. With three caused turnovers during the contest, Kylie Wilson set a program record for most in a career with 112.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury wasted little time getting on the board with Caroline Adams depositing an underhanded free-position bid into the lower right side with just 40 ticks off the clock.
• Wesleyan answered later in the first when Dylan Green powered through a trio of defenders and found space inside the right panel to make it 1-1 with nine minutes to go.
• Skylar Lach muscled her way past a pair of Cardinals and scored for a 2-1 Panther edge with 7:44 on the clock.
• A low-sidearm shot tally from Sam DeLeo on the left pipe and a free-position marker from Hope Shue kept Middlebury ahead by one (3-2).
• DeLeo knotted the contest with 1:23 left in the opening stanza. The Cardinal looked to pass to a teammate on the left pipe, but the ball slipped from her stick in the hard rain and trickled into the goal.
• The Panthers moved ahead 4-3 with 22 seconds to go. Adams got a strong shot off between two defenders that Wesleyan goalie Izzy Weintraub got a piece of, but the ball rolled in.
• Wesleyan opened the second stanza with four-straight markers to take a 7-4 lead. With 11:54 showing, Weintraub caused a turnover and sent the team racing up the field before Bridget Horst found DeLeo on the left side for a nifty score to start the span. The Cardinals followed with a free-position tally from Kiara Tangney, before Maya Waryas found Addie Cummings across the arc for a quick-stick bid. Waryas closed out the span with a bouncing player-up marker from the center hash.
• Middlebury responded with back-to-back tallies. Adams scored a free-position from the right side, before Anna Spehr grabbed a pass from Shue and used a quick-stick from point-blank range to cut the deficit to 7-6 at the break.
• Wesleyan added a pair of scores in the opening 1:38 of the third quarter. Tangney bounced in the ball from the left pipe, before Cummings powered her way through a sea of navy and white to make it 9-6.
• At the 11:53 mark, Ellie Priesing looked to give the Cardinals a four-goal lead, but Elizabeth Savage came up with a big stop to deny the bid.
• The Panthers rode the momentum, slicing the advantage to one (9-8) with consecutive markers. Maggie Coughlin caught a pass from Spehr and found the upper right corner. With 2:16 to go, Caroline Messer caused a turnover and went coast-to-coast, finding nylon.
• Wesleyan answered with a sharp-angled free-position marker from Waryas, but Lach eluded Weintraub on the left pipe with 18 ticks to go to keep the deficit at one (10-9).
• The Cardinals came out strong in the final frame with Tangney tallying twice to extend the lead to 12-9 with 5:46 remaining. 
• At the 4:50 mark, Spehr had a good look from the doorstep on the left post, but Weintraub thwarted the effort. 
• Waryas tacked on another goal from a sharp right angle while Middlebury's goalie was out, putting Wesleyan ahead 13-9 with just under a minute to go.
• The Panthers would not be shutout of the quarter as Kate Motley caught a beautiful pass from behind the goal by Shue for the 13-10 final score.  

NOTES

• Middlebury's 67-straight wins set a program record, with the last streak of 52 being set from 2001-2003. During the most recent span, the Panthers won 36-conseuctive games on Peter Kohn Field dating back to 2022.
• Messer recorded career highs in caused turnovers (four) and groundballs (five). 
• Wilson now has 112 caused turnovers in her career, rewriting the previous program mark of 110 set by Erica Barr '23.
• The Panthers and the Cardinals met for the 27th time with Middlebury claiming each of the previous 26 matchups.

Middlebury awaits its fate in the NCAA Tournament when the field is announced on Monday, May 5.