CLINTON, N.Y. — The Middlebury College women’s lacrosse team picked up two more victories this past weekend, both on the road against NESCAC foes, to improve to 12-1, 7-1 in league play.
The wins stretched the Panthers’ winning streak to 12 and set up the Panthers, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division III, for a home showdown this Saturday at 2 p.m. with undefeated No. 6 Tufts.
The winner of that game, barring a stunning upset in games to be played in the middle of next week, will earn the top seed for the NESCAC tournament that will begin with the quarterfinal round on April 27. The highest remaining seed will host the league’s final four the following weekend.
On this past Sunday the Panthers defeated host Hamilton, 13-9, in their second road game in two days. Hamilton fell to 5-7, 2-7 in the league. The Panthers took a 6-2 lead, but Hamilton cut it to 7-5 at the break. Three goals by Emma McDonagh early in the second half helped Middlebury stretched the advantage to 11-6, and the Panthers moved to the win from there.
Jane Earley led the Panthers with three goals and four assists. McDonagh extended her scoring streak to 40 straight games by scoring four times, adding an assist. Jenna McNicholas also notched four goals. Addy Mitchell led the defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, Alex White also scooped four ground balls, while Erin Nicholas controlled eight draws. Panther goalies Julia Keith and Kate Furber each played a half and made two saves.
On Saturday the Panthers went on a mid-game 5-0 run in a 14-8 win at Trinity (8-4, 4-4 NESCAC). Middlebury’s Emily Barnard scored the final goal of the first half to make it 9-6 at the break, and then a goal apiece by McNicholas and Kirsten Murphy and two more by Barnard made it 13-6 to open the second. The run lasted more than 17 minutes.
Barnard finished with four goals, while McDonagh and McNicholas each scored three. Earley chipped in with a goal, five ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Nicholas controlled four draws and caused three turnovers. Keith made three saves in the first half, while Furber made three in the final 30 minutes. Two Bantam goalies combined for five saves. The Panthers converted seven of eight free positions in the game.