SOUTH BURLINGTON — The Middlebury Union High School girls’ lacrosse team on Friday cruised to an 8-2 win against host South Burlington in a game that was called at halftime due to weather and field conditions.
The result gave first-year coach and former Tiger standout Brandi Whittemore a victory in her varsity head-coaching debut.
The conditions on Friday were tough from the beginning, and it took brooms and shovels to uncover the lines from the snow, but the Wolves and Tigers braved the weather for the season opener.
Tiger senior Isabel Rosenberg set the pace 13 seconds into the game with her first of three goals. A few minutes later, senior Satchel McLaughlin put away a low angled shot off a feed from senior Ella Nagy-Benson to give the Tigers an early 2-0 lead.
About five minutes in, Wolves senior Dakota Crane broke through on a breakaway, bringing the score to 2-1.
Junior Ada Anderson buried a free position a few minutes later, quickly followed by a goal from junior Emily Laframboise.
South Burlington’s Sabrina Redzic scored with 10 minutes remaining in the half, making it 4-2.
From there, Middlebury dominated, getting two more goals from Rosenberg as well as another two from McLaughlin, with an assist from junior Lacey Greenamyre.
In the back, Tiger seniors Keagan Dunbar, Olivia Beauchamp and Abby Gleason, plus Greenamyre kept the Wolves to just four shots. Senior Tiger goalie Raven Payne and South Burlington’s Claire Phillips both made two saves.
During the halftime break, the officials called the game to prevent injuries, determining the field was too slippery to be safe. Vermont rules say that 80 percent of the game must be played in order to determine a winner, but the South Burlington coach conceded Middlebury the win given the 8-2 halftime lead.
The Tigers, the defending Division I champions, are coming off an undefeated season and extended their winning streak to 19 games. They will play at Rutland on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in what should be the first full game of the season.