CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team this past weekend picked up two more one-sided road wins to improve to 4-0. The Panthers, ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division III, will open at home this Saturday, when they host NESCAC foe Wesleyan at noon.
On this past Sunday, the Panthers went on a 9-0 mid-game run in a 19-7 victory over host MIT (2-2). Leading by 6-5 with 9:07 remaining in the first half, Middlebury scored six straight goals before intermission and then the first three goals of the second half to take a 10-goal lead.
Middlebury used a balanced attack, with 12 players finding the net. Mary O’Connell led that group with three goals and four assists, while Laurel Pascal, Bridget Instrum and Kate Hodgson each tallied twice and had an assist. Alli Sciarretta and Hailey Cosseboom chipped in with two goals each. Instrum led all players with five draw controls, while Maggie Caputi scooped up four ground balls and Evie Keating had three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Katie Furber (one save) played the opening period between the pipes for Middlebury, while Madeleine Kinker and Alex Freedman split time in the second and each had two saves. MIT’s Eva Boal stopped 13 shots, as the Panthers held edges of 43-14 in attempted shots and 24-11 in ground balls. Kira Schott scored twice for the Engineers.
On Saturday, the Panthers dispatched No. 10 Tufts, 17-9. The Jumbos dropped to 2-1, 0-1 in NESCAC play. Sciarretta and Instrum both scored five goals to pace the Panthers, who racked up the game’s first six goals, all in the opening 11 minutes.  
The Jumbos recorded four of the next five goals to pull within three at 7-4 with 8:33 remaining until halftime. Middlebury scored the final three of the half to take a 10-4 lead into the break. Back-to-back goals by Instrum started that decisive run.
Tufts scored the first two goals of the second half, but the Panthers responded with four of the next five goals by four different players to pull away.
Pascal and Bea Eppler each added three goals for the Panthers, and O’Connell had four assists as Middlebury earned a 34-22 advantage in shots. The Panthers also had a 17-11 lead on draw controls, including seven by Pascal. Furber made six saves in the win. Caroline Ross scored five goals for the Jumbos, and goalie Audrey Evers stopped 10 shots.