#20 Women's Lacrosse Tests #1 Middlebury in 13-6 Defeat

CHICAGO -- The 20th-ranked University of Chicago women's lacrosse team battled back from a tough first quarter to test the #1 ranked team in the nation with a 13-6 loss to the 5-time defending National Champions, Middlebury. The seven-goal margin of victory for the Panthers is the third-smallest against a non-NESCAC opponent in the past four seasons with the lone two six-goal games coming against #3 TCNJ in 2023 (17-11) and #3 Franklin & Marshall in the 2024 National Semifinals (15-9).

Middlebury came off the bus in a fury with five goals in the first four and half minutes of action, and the Panthers added two more goals in a 58-second stretch late in the opening period to take a commanding 7-0 lead.

The Maroons would grab a little momentum with their first goal with 38 seconds remaining in the opening period thanks to an unassisted goal from

Kelly Callaghan. Then,

Grace Hopkins finished off a fastbreak opportunity on a pass from

Peyton McGuire in the opening minute of the second period to cut the lead to five.

Following a goal from the Panthers,

Kaylin Oey scored her third goal of the season on a pass from Hopkins, and McGuire added her first goal of the game on a pass from

Avery Song to make the score 8-4. The Panthers would add the final goal of the half to take a 9-4 lead into the locker room.

The Maroons carried over their momentum into the second half with back-to-back goals by Callaghan and McGuire in the opening four minutes of the half, cutting the lead to three and forcing Middlebury to call a timeout to stymie the UChicago attack. However, the Panthers would answer back with two more goals in the next three minutes to extend the lead back to five at 11-6, and they would score two more goals in the fourth quarter to hold on for a 13-6 victory.

UChicago outscored Middlebury 6-2 over a 20-minute stretch in the game, but the 7-0 early advantage was too much to overcome for the Maroons.

Overall in the game, the Maroons were outshot 29-20, but they finished tied in ground balls with 23 and forced one more turnover than the Panthers. The Maroons also outshot the Panthers 19-18 in the final three quarters of action.

Peyton McGuire and

Kelly Callaghan led the offensive attack with two goals and one assist for three total points.

Grace Hopkins also added a goal and an assist.

Kali Konstantinakos paced the defensive pressure with a team-high five ground balls and four caused turnovers.

Lila Porzio and

Emily Sensenich also recorded multiple caused turnovers in the loss. In goal,

Lily Brill made 10 saves on 23 shots on goal against the potent Middlebury attack.

With the loss, the Maroons fall to 5-4 on the season. The University of Chicago returns to action on Wednesday night as the Maroons host Illinois Wesleyan at Stagg Field for a 6 PM opening draw.