#1 Middlebury Continues Title Defense With NCAA Regional Hosting Duties

The Panthers celebrate on the sideline during a recent contest.

The #1 Middlebury women's lacrosse team continues its NCAA title defense this weekend, hosting the third and fourth rounds of the national tournament. The Panthers face #18 Rowan at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, followed by #7 Amherst and #14 The College of New Jersey at 2:00 p.m. on Peter Kohn Field. The winners meet in Sunday's quarterfinal at 1:00 p.m.

ABOUT MIDDLEBURY

• Middlebury earned the NESCAC's automatic berth and a first-round bye in the tournament after defeating #11 Trinity in the NESCAC Semifinals (13-8) and #4 Wesleyan (7-5) in the title tilt. The Panthers eased past St. John Fisher 17-4 in the second round.

• Middlebury makes its 30th appearance in the national bracket and seek their 12th NCAA Championship.

• The program won the national title in each of its last five completed seasons, bringing home the hardware in 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

• The Panthers finished the regular season with an unblemished 15-0 mark for the fifth-straight season and enter the NCAA Tournament Third Round sporting a 19-0 record this spring.

• Middlebury ranks in the top five nationally in winning percentage (first - 1.000), scoring defense (first - 5.05), free-position percentage (third - .679), draw control percentage (third - .679) and clearing percentage (fourth - .902).

PANTHERS TO WATCH

• Caroline Adams resides among the conference's elite in multiple statistical categories. The senior paces her peers in goals (61), goals per game (3.21), points (98) and points per game (5.16). Adams became the first player in program history to surpass 400 draw controls and sits with 457 heading into the weekend.

• Haley Hamilton has co-starred alongside Adams in the scoring column, ranking second on the team with 52 tallies and 60 points. The Panther has logged three or more markers in 11 contests, including a four-goal flurry in the NESCAC Semifinals.

• Skylar Lach has been on a hot streak as of late. The senior has 13 goals across her last four contests, headlined by six against Williams in the regular-season finale.

• Other offensive contributors are Parker Hanson (11G, 23A), Siobhan Colin (18G, 15A) and Maeve Lee (26G, 2A). Hanson posted a career-best four tallies in the second-round triumph.

• On the other end, Caroline Messer has spearheaded the nation's third-best scoring defense, causing 40 cough-ups and digging out 52 ground balls. Jaime Patton-Martin has bolstered the unit with 22 miscues and 20 rollers.

• Other contributors on the defensive side have been Emma McCann (25GB, 23CT), Lauren Giuriceo (22GB, 19CT) and Macy Sweeny (20GB, 16CT).

• Lucy Bishop and Adams have dominated the draw circle throughout the campaign. Adams paces the squad with 108, while Bishop follows with 88. Bishop also has 25 grounders and 17 forced miscues.

• Between the pipes, Elizabeth Savage owns a 5.02 goals against average (GAA), good for the top mark across all three NCAA divisions. She has amassed 74 stops across 19 starts and surpassed the 200-save threshold during the NESCAC Championship win.

ABOUT ROWAN

• The Profs earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after falling to The College of New Jersey 10-7 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championship.

• Rowan appears in the dance for the second straight season and the 13th occasion in the program's history. The Profs claimed their fifth win in the national event last weekend, edging Scranton 13-11 in the second round.

• The team enters the weekend with a 15-4 record, including a 10-game winning streak entering the regular-season finale.

• Rowan holds top-10 spots nationally in draw controls per game (ninth - 15.84) and draw control percentage (10th - .638).

PROFS TO WATCH

• The Profs have four players with over 60 points this season, led by Elaina Corson. The senior paces the squad in points (98) and goals (79) while sharing the team lead with 19 assists. Her 4.16 goals per game rank ninth among her peers nationally.

• The trio of Madison Rothwein, Fiona Lockhart and Alexis Lowry has produced north of the 60-point plateau. Rothwein (47G, 14A) and Lockhart (42G, 19A) are tied with 61, while Lowry is second in goals scored with 49 to go with 11 helpers and 43 draw wins. Rothwein paces the Profs in draw controls (152), ground balls (50) and caused turnovers (45).

• The duo of Leah Corkhill and Jess Hoffmaster is a force to be reckoned with in the midfield. Corkhill is second on the squad with 34 rollers and has turned over 33 opponents. Hoffmaster has secured 25 ground balls while tallying five goals and four assists.

• Anchoring the defense, Jenna O'Neill has started all 19 contests with 28 rollers and 18 caused turnovers.

• Goalie Kylie Durboraw has started each game for Rowan, owning 14 wins this season. She has racked up 110 saves and touts a 9.09 GAA.

ABOUT AMHERST

• Amherst earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and a first-round bye.

• The Mammoths are making their 16th appearance in the national playoffs and are seeking to advance to the quarterfinals on Sunday for the fourth time in program history.

• Amherst enters the weekend with a 13-4 record, including an 11-8 win against Stevens in the second round.

• The Mammoths maintain top-20 spots in clearing percentage (seventh - .891), shot percentage (18th - .496) and draw control percentage (19th - .603).

• In the crease, Lily Samoska has been a mainstay for Amherst, starting 15 games while sporting a 13-2 mark. She has collected 87 saves and possesses a 7.99 GAA.

• Kate Becker ranks 21st in Division III in assists per game (2.88) and 24th in assists (47) to go with nine goals and a team-best 56 points. Emily Petersen slots first on the squad in draw controls (81), goals (44) and game-winning tallies (three), while she is second in points (49).

• Jordan Kauftheil and Annie McCarthy are a formidable duo along the backline. Kauftheil paces Amherst in ground balls (44) and caused turnovers (26), while McCarthy has turned over 26 opponents and scooped 20 rollers.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY

• The Lions are making their Division III-record 40th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seeking the program's 13th crown.

• TCNJ ranks first in the sport's history with 89 NCAA wins (89-27) and second in winning percentage (.767).

• The Lions earned an automatic berth after defeating Rowan 10-7 in the NJAC Championship. During its opening contest, the team eased past Messiah 18-11 in the second round.

• The squad ranks fifth in winning percentage (.895), fifth in shot percentage (.522), sixth in scoring defense (5.79) and eighth in caused turnovers per game (14.47).

• Leading the attack, Marissa Lucca has tallied a team-high 130 points on 78 goals and 52 assists. She ranks fourth in Division III in points and points per game, while slotting eighth in goals and 11th in goals per contest.

• Kelly Nevins (60G, 21A) and CJ Kole (46G, 22A) have also contributed heavily to the offensive output.

• Defensively, Abby Williams has induced the most cough-ups (59) and collected the most ground balls (52), placing her 17th in caused turnovers per game. Ashly Herlihy has collected 51 ground balls and recorded 42 caused turnovers. Kole (53), Lucca (47) and Emily Potenza (41) each reside north of 40 draw victories.

• Goalie Hailey Wexler owns the fifth-best GAA in Division III at 5.88, while earning 17 wins between the posts.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Panthers and Profs have not played in the sport of women's lacrosse.

• Middlebury and Amherst would play for the second time this season and the 63rd overall, with the navy and white holding a 55-7 advantage. The Panthers have won 16 straight games against the Mammoths dating back to a pair of triumphs in 2015, including a 13-7 decision on April 18 in Massachusetts.

• If the Panthers and the Lions meet on Sunday, it would be the 19th matchup with the Panthers holding a narrow 10-8 edge. Middlebury has won the last five games that started with the 2018 NCAA Semifinals (13-9). The contest would be the 13th meeting in the NCAA Tournament, with the Lions holding a 7-5 edge.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

The weekend winner advances to the final site of competition and plays in the NCAA Semifinals on Friday, May 22 at Judson Stadium on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. The start times have yet to be determined.