MIDDLEBURY — Visiting Trinity on Saturday dealt the Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team its first setback, but the Panthers bounced back to post home wins over two other ranked teams and stand at 12-1, 7-1 in NESCAC play heading into an 11 a.m. Saturday home game vs. Colby.
The Panthers dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 in the NCAA Division III rankings with Saturday’s setback, while Trinity (11-2, 7-1 NESCAC) moved from No. 10 to No. 7.
On this past Saturday, defending NESCAC champion Trinity snapped a 7-7 halftime tie with four straight goals to open the second half en route to a 13-9 victory.
In the back-and-forth first half, Trinity goalie Zoe Ferguson made nine saves to keep her team in the game as the Panthers controlled most of the action, earning a 16-9 edge in shots on goal. Her teammate Emily Mooney took over in goal for the second half and stopped three shots as the Bantams possessed the ball for long stretches. Middlebury came no closer than three goals after Trinity’s 4-0 run to start the second half. 
Bridget Instrum led the Panthers with four goals, Laurel Pascal finished with two scores and a team-best six ground balls, Alli Sciarretta added a goal and two assists, Megan Griffin and Mary O’Connell scored a goal apiece, and Hollis Perticone and Chrissy Ritter each caused three turnovers for the Panthers. Goalie Katie Mandigo made five saves in 59:07; one Bantam goal came on an empty net.
Kiley Coffey and Clare Lyne paced the Bantams with four goals and an assist apiece.
On Sunday, the Panthers went on a 10-0 run that spanned both halves in a 14-4 win over visiting No. 12 Hamilton (10-3, 5-4 NESCAC). The Panther defense forced 28 turnovers in the game, won 12 of 19 draws and held a 25-14 shots advantage.
Instrum’s four goals led all scorers, and she added three draw controls and one assist. Pascal finished with three goals, an assist, three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. Griffin earned two goals and two assists, Sciarretta finished with three goals and an assist, while Perticone had two assists, four draw controls and two caused turnovers. Ritter chipped in a goal and two caused turnovers, Bea Eppler scored, and Mandigo made six saves.
On Tuesday, the Panthers defeated visiting No. 19 Union, 15-7, using a 6-0 run early in the second half to establish a 14-4 lead. During that decisive surge, Instrum scored her 100th goal as a Panther, Sciarretta scored three times, and Ritter assisted three straight strikes.
Pascal led the Panthers with four goals, and Sciarretta finished with three scores. Instrum added two goals and a game-best four draw controls, while Ritter had a goal and a game-high three assists. Panther defender Evie Keating finished with game highs of seven ground balls and five caused turnovers.
 Mandigo played the first half making two saves and allowing three scores, and Kate Furber made four stops in the second half and allowed four scores. Jen Hughes made 14 saves in 54:47 for Union.