Women's Lacrosse Courtesy of Middlebury Athletics

Middlebury Wins 13th NESCAC Women's Lacrosse Title

The No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Middlebury women's lacrosse team used a decisive four-goal run during Sunday's second and third quarters to turn a 1-1 defensive battle into a 5-1 advantage and eventual 7-5 triumph over No. 4-ranked and third-seeded Wesleyan in the NESCAC Championship Game. With the victory, the Panthers claimed their conference-leading 13th title and the third in the last four seasons. Middlebury receives the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
  • The Panthers struck first with 1:34 expired in the initial quarter. Caroline Adams ripped a free-position attempt under the crossbar to make it a 1-0 contest.
  • Wesleyan knotted the contest 42 seconds into the second stanza. Caroline Cervini buried a twirling shot into the top-left corner to tie the game at 1-1.
  • Middlebury began its decisive run less than two minutes later, with Adams having a hand in all three scores. The senior dodged down the left channel and fed Maggie Spehr, who spun and deposited her shot into the top portion of the net for a 2-1 lead. The senior connected with Siobhan Colin in transition nearly three minutes later, while Adams tallied her second free-position marker of the half with 2:27 left for a 4-1 advantage.
  • Sophia Lee capped the Panther run 3:47 after the break, dodging through traffic before burying her left-handed chance over Weintraub's shoulder.
  • The Cardinals made it a three-goal contest with 1:14 left when Elle Preising laced a shot through defenders that found the back of the cage to make it 5-2.
  • The Panthers regained their four-goal advantage (6-2) with 8:21 left when Adams tickled the twine on a free-position chance. 
  • Wesleyan tallied a pair of goals 1:19 apart. Mya Waryas rifled an attempt from straight on (5:17), while Bridget Horst wrinkled the nylon on a quick-stick opportunity (3:58) to trim the deficit to 6-4.
  • Middlebury won the ensuing draw and circled the ball through the zone. Colin drove and fed Spehr at the top of the crease for a quick conversion and a 7-4 edge with 2:51 remaining.
  • The red and black didn't go away, as Cervini ripped a behind-the-back look that tucked into the top-left corner with 48.4 seconds left.
  • The Panthers claimed the next draw and ran out the clock, securing the hard-fought decision.
NOTES
  • Adams finished with three goals and two assists for five points. Her total of 17 points is one shy of the NESCAC Tournament record. Adams won a game-best eight draws, becoming the fifth player in program history to surpass 100 in a spring (103).
  • Caroline Messer continued her torrid stretch, concluding the contest with three caused turnovers, a trio of draws won and two ground balls.
  • Savage posted six saves in the victory, giving her 204 for her career. She improves to 35-0 in her career and 18-0 this season.
  • Cervini led the Cardinals with a pair of goals and Izzy Weintraub was credited with four saves in the Wesleyan net.
Middlebury learns its opponent when the NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on Monday at 10:30 a.m. via NCAA.com.