#1 Women’s Lacrosse Earns 12th NESCAC Title With 11-5 Win Over #3 Wesleyan

The #1/top-seeded Middlebury women’s lacrosse team recorded six-unanswered goals, turning a 5-5 contest into an 11-5 triumph against #3/second-seeded Wesleyan in the NESCAC Championship. With the victory, the Panthers claimed their conference-leading 12th title and the fourth in the last five seasons. Middlebury receives the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament which begins next week. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Wesleyan gained an early lead 1:34 into the first quarter when Becca Dibble fired a quick-stick shot into the top-left corner.
• The hosts tied the contest 3:11 later when Susan Rowley drove from the right side and tucked a bid inside the post.
• The Cardinals ripped off a three-goal run spanning the next nearly five minutes of action. Dylan Green bounced in a free-position attempt, while Laura Baine and Elle Preising found the back of the net for a 4-1 advantage with 5:21 showing on the clock.
• The Panthers answered with the game’s next four tallies to move into their first lead. Niki Mormile scored on a quick turnaround shot from just outside the crease with 2:56 remaining before Sara Ellinghaus bounced in a free-position shot with 27.7 ticks left for a 4-3 score.
• Maggie Coughlin knotted the game at 4-4 with 12:47 left in the second stanza on a quick-stick score from the left side before Rowley tucked in a free-position bid into the top-right corner 5:30 later to give the hosts a 5-4 edge.
• Wesleyan recorded the third quarter’s lone goal as Baine slotted her shot into the right panel on a free-position bid at 2:58 to even the game at 5-5.
• Middlebury goalie Elizabeth Savage kept the contest tied with a point-blank save on a shot by Molly Greer with 1:48 left in the frame.
• Savage continued that momentum, denying a close-range attempt by Lindsey Diomede on a free-position chance less than two minutes into the fourth quarter.
• The Panthers began their decisive run when Hope Shue ripped a bouncing bid following a Cardinal foul inside the arc with 12:05 remaining. 
• Anna Spehr made it a 7-5 contest 57 seconds later on a quick-stick marker following a pretty pass from behind the goal by Coughlin.
• Rowley completed her hat trick at 8:40 on a drive from the left side, while goals by Shue, Ellinghaus and Coughlin over the final minutes provided the 11-5 decision. 

NOTES

• Shue continues her ascent up the program’s career record books. She became just the third player to eclipse 200 career goals (201), while moving into fourth place in points (250). Shue finished the NESCAC Tournament with 16 points (13G, 3A), Rowley had 13 (10G, 3A), while Kate Motley (8G, 2A) and Coughlin (5G, 5A) each posted 10 points.
• Coughlin climbed into the ninth spot in program history with 67 assists.
• Kylie Wilson tied her season high with four caused turnovers, giving her 80 for her career. That total ranks eighth in the program’s history.
• The win was the program’s 46th victory in a row and the 25th-straight triumph on Peter Kohn Field.
• The NESCAC Championship was the second-consecutive title for Middlebury.
• The Panthers have appeared in all 22 NESCAC Tournaments and the program played in the championship game for the 15th time.
• Sunday’s contest was the 25th meeting in the all-time series between Middlebury and Wesleyan with the Panthers winning all 25. The programs met for just the second time in the NESCAC Tournament with Middlebury posting a 16-6 victory in the 2022 semifinals.

The Panthers will await their opponent when the NCAA Tournament selection show takes place on Monday at 10:30 a.m.