MIDDLEBURY, VT. – At 9:18 of the second quarter the Ephs
Lauren Morganlander tied the game at 4 when she scored off a pass from
Isabel Arvelo. Shortly after the tying goal Eph netminder Anj Ramn stopped a Middlebury free position attempt, but the Middlebury Panthers were not to be denied. At 7:21 the Panthers Maggie Coughlin scored unassisted off a ground ball pick up to put Middlebury on top 5-4. That goal started a skein of 15 unanswered goals by the Panthers enabling Middlebury to remain perfect on the year 15-0 and 10-0 in NESCAC play.
With the loss Williams closes out the regular season with an overall record of 10-5 and 5-5 in NESCAC.
Both Middlebury and Williams will advance to the NESCAC Tournament with Middlebury being the top seed and the Ephs seeded seventh.
Trailing 4-1 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter the Ephs rallied to tie the score with three straight goals. With just 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter
Grace Collier notched the Ephs second goal with
Lauren Morganlander assisting.
The third Eph score came at 12:02 of the second quarter when
Sasha Landau received a pass from
Katy McCullough and slotted home a shot to put the Ephs down one goal 4-3.
Lauren Morganlander tied the game at 4 all when she scored off a feed from
Isabel Arvelo with 9:18 showing on the clock.
Middlebury responded by scoring 6 unanswered goals to close out the half with a 10-4 lead.
Middlebury capitalized on 7 Eph turnovers in the second quarter while the Panthers had but one turnover. Three of the 6 Middlebury goals came via free position opportunities.
On the night Eph goalie
Anj Raman allowed 19 goals and had 7 saves while Panthers netminder Annie Enrietto allowed 4 goals and recorded 4 saves.
Eph head coach
Alice Lee commented after the game, "Middlebury is the top ranked team in the country for a reason and they gave us a competitive game today. Our defense had some big plays throughout the game and even though our turnovers got the best of us today I'm proud of the fight from our team until the final whistle."
Next up for the Ephs will be the first round contest in the NESCAC Tournament. The NESCAC office will be announcing the pairings and game times for the 2023 Women's lacrosse Championship in the near future.
