Stalwart Defensive Effort Lifts #1 Women’s Lacrosse Over #5 Amherst

The #1 Middlebury women's lacrosse team rattled off seven-straight goals and held #5 Amherst scoreless across 32:01 of action on its way to a 13-7 triumph over the Mammoths.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers broke through with 2:30 expired in the first quarter. Caroline Adams weaved through three defenders and bounced a shot into the lower-left portion for a 1-0 lead.

• Amherst knotted the contest 1:36 later when Bridget Darcy tucked her bid inside the right post.

• Maddie Ackerman regained the lead for the hosts with 9:19 showing on the clock, quick-sticking a feed from behind by Parker Hanson.

• Bridget Finley answered a minute later with a turnaround bid that tucked under the bar to make it 2-2.

• Middlebury took the lead for good at the 6:53 mark when Maeve Lee buried a free-position chance inside the right post.

• The Mammoths nearly knotted the game with 5:04 left, but Finley's shot clanged off the left post.

• A minute later, Adams utilized the momentum, dodging down the right channel and firing a bid under the stick of goalie Lily Samoska.

• The hosts looked to pull within one with 42 seconds remaining in the opening frame, but Panther goalie Elizabeth Savage thwarted a rising attempt from Emma Crotty.

• Haley Hamilton increased the advantage to 5-2 at the 8:06 mark of the second quarter on a quick-stick tally from the top of the crease.

• Savage kept the Amherst attack off the board, denying a chance from Clara Sosa with 6:34 left and a bid three minutes later by Mia Raven on the doorstep.

• Lach gave Middlebury a four-goal cushion (6-2) with 2:45 left on a runner that bounced past Samoska.

• Savage's best save of the afternoon came with 22.1 ticks left. Darcy uncorked a point-blank opportunity that the netminder twirled to turn away.

• A one-time tally by Lach with 11:58 remaining in the third, followed by markers from Hamilton and Adams less than two minutes apart, gave the Panthers a 9-2 lead.

• Emily Petersen ended the scoring drought with 6:16 on the clock, reaching out and collecting a pass before firing a shot inside the right post.

• Siobhan Colin (4:05) and Finley (12.4) made it a 10-4 contest headed to the final stanza.

• A pair of goals 37 seconds apart from Sosa drew Amherst to within four with 9:47 left.

• Lach completed her hat trick with 7:38 remaining, depositing a pass from Adams for an 11-6 lead, while Colin ducked a defender and fired into the left panel two minutes later.

• Petersen recorded her second of the contest from the top of the crease, while Adams posted her fourth on a free-position shot with 59.6 seconds left for the final 13-7 tally.

NOTES

• Adams matched her career-high point output with eight points, scoring four times and adding a quartet of helpers.

• The triumph was the third victory over a top-five foe in the last six contests.

• The programs played for the 62nd matchup, with the Panthers holding a decisive 55-7 advantage in the all-time series. Middlebury has won the last 16 meetings dating back to the 2015 season.

The Panthers close out the regular season on Wednesday, traveling to #19 Williams for a 6:00 p.m. start in Massachusetts.