HARTFORD, Conn. — The Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team picked up two recent victories, including a critical NESCAC win that gave the Panthers the inside track on hosting the league’s postseason tournament.
The 11-2 Panthers, 7-1 in NESCAC, moved to No. 4 in this week’s NCA Division III rankings.
The big win came on Saturday, when the Panthers defeated host Trinity, 10-9, in double overtime in a showdown for first place in NESCAC. The Bantams dropped to 11-2 and are also 7-1 in NESCAC play, but the Panthers now own the first-place tiebreaker.
Middlebury’s Hollis Perticone scored with 2:37 left in double overtime to give the Panthers the victory over the team they defeated in the 2016 NESCAC and NCAA Division III title games. Perticone’s unassisted goal, her 20th of the season, came on an unassisted drive to goal and a finish high into the net.
Trinity took a 4-3 halftime lead in a defensive battle early on. Mary O’Connell, Emma McDonagh and Perticone, from O’Connell, scored for Middlebury before the break.
Two McDonagh goals gave Middlebury a second-half lead, but Trinity responded with goals from Grace O’Donnell and Clare Lyne to make it 6-5. O’Connell tied the game 6-6 with an unassisted tally and set up McDonagh to give Middlebury the lead back. O’Connell’s assist was the 100th of her career, making her only the third player in program history to reach the milestone.
Trinity’s Kiley Coffey scored three times, with only Sara DiCenso answering for Middlebury, and the Bantams led, 9-8. But O’Connell set up overtime with an unassisted goal with two minutes left in regulation, and Perticone’s score ended the game. Panther defender Delaina Smith led all players with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Coffey scored five times for the Bantams. 
In goal for the Panthers, Kate Furber made 10 saves, including a stop on a free-position attempt in the first overtime, while Zoe Ferguson made nine saves for Trinity.
On Tuesday, the Panthers picked up an 18-10 win at Union (3-7).
Perticone finished with a game-best six goals, while McDonagh scored three times and set up a score, and DiCenso recorded two goals and two assists. On defense, Evie Keating scooped three ground balls and caused three turnovers, and Jessie Yorke scooped up three ground balls and won two draws, while Susanna Baker collected three draw controls.
Furber made six saves and allowed eight goals in 47:47, while Julia Keith made one save and allowed two goals in 12:13. Two Union goalies combined for five saves.