Middlebury College

The #1 Middlebury women's lacrosse team rattled off a 9-1 run in the opening quarter en route to a 21-4 victory over #18 Rowan in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Profs looked to take the lead 1:37 into the opening quarter. Elaina Corson ripped a point-blank bid on the right post that Panther goalie Elizabeth Savage plucked with her stick.
• The Panthers opened the scoring 36 seconds later when Caroline Adams weaved through the defense and fired a cross-crease attempt into the right panel.
• Middlebury tallied six consecutive markers following the opening goal as back-to-back tallies from Maeve Lee sparked the run. Haley Hamilton closed the span with a pair to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead with 4:57 to go.
• Rowan got on the board with 3:57 left on the clock as Trish Gillen bounced a free-position chance past Savage.
• Adams answered just 19 seconds later on a free-position chance.
• Fiona Lockhart looked to spark the Prof attack in transition, sending a bid toward the right post that Savage stuffed at the 2:07 mark.
• Maddie Ackerman closed the frame by delivering a feed from Parker Hanson into the top-left corner with 1:02 on the clock for a 9-1 edge.
• Corson sliced the deficit to seven (9-2) with 1:20 expired in the second quarter, tucking her bid under the crossbar.
• Ackerman recorded her second goal of the contest over a minute later, skipping a free-position opportunity inside the right post.
• Corson answered with a player-up marker at 10:51, firing a shot into the center of the goal to make it a seven-goal contest (10-3).
• The hosts posted the final three markers of the frame. Adams tickled the twine twice at 10:05 and 7:03, while Sophia Lee muscled her way through the defense and rustled the nylon at 5:06 to send the game to halftime with a 13-3 score and a running clock.
• Middlebury opened the third frame with a trio of goals, as Lee (14:02), Adams (12:12) and Siobhan Colin (9:34) found the back of the net for a 16-3 lead.
• Gillen thwarted the run four minutes later, depositing a low-slot shot on the run into the right panel while a player up.
• Seconds later, Caroline Messer claimed the draw victory, raced to the edge of the crease and bounced her look into the right side.
• Maeve Lee concluded the quarter with 2:18 left, skipping her bid into the right panel for an 18-4 advantage.
• Rowan had a quality chance with 12:17 left in regulation, as Yasmin Harris ripped a free-position shot toward the net that Annie Spring stonewalled.
• Britt Nawrocki (11:54) scored on an underhanded bid in transition, while Maggie Spehr (6:29) and Nawrocki (1:45) finalized the 21-4 decision.

NOTES

• Maeve Lee finished with a career-high four goals to lead 10 different goal scorers in the win.
• Adams had a solid all-around day with five goals, an assist and a game-best seven draw victories. She surpassed the 100-point plateau in a single season for the second straight year (104).
• Messer posted four draw control wins alongside a goal, while Colin scored twice and scooped up three ground balls.
• Savage posted a trio of saves in 38:33 of action, while Spring collected a save and Ruth Abdalla logged time between the pipes.
• The programs met for the first time in women's lacrosse.

Middlebury takes on the winner of #7 Amherst and #14 The College of New Jersey in Sunday's regional final at 1:00 p.m. from Peter Kohn Field.