Hartford, Conn. – Freshman midfielder Sally Ryan (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) scored the game-winning goal with 5:32 left in the game and junior goalie Blair Bowie (Washington, D.C.) made 21 saves to lead the visiting Middlebury College Panthers to a 13-11 win over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's lacrosse action this afternoon on Sheppard Field. Trinity, ranked No. 11 in the nation, falls to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in the NESCAC with its first loss in three games, while the Panthers, ranked No. 7 nationally, improve to 7-2 overall and remain perfect in the league at 7-0 with their fourth straight victory.

Trinity opened up a 10-6 lead with 13:28 left to play on the fifth tally of the game by freshman attacker Caitlin Irvine (Westwood, Mass.), but the Panthers closed the game with a 7-1 run including six goals over the next 11 minutes to take the lead for the first time since early in the first half. Middlebury possessed the ball for all of the final 5:32 of the game, except for one short stretch after a point blank save by Bantam senior captain goalie Michelle Smith (Wayland, Mass.) with just over two minutes on the clock. Smith passed the ball up to junior defender Kristina Scontras (Cape Elizabeth, Maine), who advanced the ball into Panther territory only to be swarmed by three Middlebury defenders before losing the ball.

Trinity trailed, 3-1, early but rattled off four goals in seven minutes to take a 5-3 lead with 8:46 remaining before the break. The Panthers scored two in a row to tie the contest at 5-5 with 1:37 on the clock, but Irvine answered 13 seconds later to give Trinity a one-goal advantage at intermission. Irvine scored two of four Bantam goals that gave the home team a 10-6 lead, before Middlebury began its comeback with the first of three scores in the second half by senior co-captain Katherine Entwistle (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.).

Smith matched Bowie in the cage with 21 saves, while freshman midfielder Rachel Romanowsky (Hampstead, N.H.) scored twice and added four draw controls, and sophomore attacker Jenn Calver (Barnard, Vt.) provided a goal and an assist off the bench. Sophomore attacker Dana Heritage (Cheshire, Conn.) paced the Panthers with five goals, while Ryan and fellow rookie Chase Delano (Greenwich, Conn.) each added a goal and an assist. Freshman defender Taylor Brown (Englewood, Colo.) gave Middlebury the possession edge with seven draw controls.

Score by Period       1  2  Tot
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Middlebury..........  5  8 - 13
Trinity (Conn.).....  6  5 - 11
 
Attendance: 150
 
Middlebury SCORING:
GOALS: Dana Heritage 5; Katherine Entwisle 3; Chase Delano 1; Sally Ryan 1;
       Reid Berrien 1; Caroline Kirkendoll 1; Lindsay Winstead 1.
ASSISTS: Mimi Schatz 2; Chase Delano 1; Sally Ryan 1.
 
Trinity (Conn.) SCORING:
GOALS: Caitlin Irvine 5; Rachel Romanowsky 2; Jennifer Calver 1;
       Sarah Remes 1; CJ Yanofsky 1; Alisen Urquhart 1.
ASSISTS: Jennifer Calver 1.
 
SHOTS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury.......... 19 20 - 39
Trinity (Conn.)..... 19 18 - 37
 
GROUND BALLS BY PRD   1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury..........  5  5 - 10
Trinity (Conn.).....  7  6 - 13
 
DRAW CONTROLS BY PRD  1  2  Tot
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Middlebury..........  6  8 - 14
Trinity (Conn.).....  5  5 - 10
 
FREE-POSITION SHOTS    1     2     Total
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Middlebury..........  1-3   2-4  -  3-7
Trinity (Conn.).....  2-4   1-3  -  3-7
 
SAVES BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury.......... 11 11 - 22
Trinity (Conn.)..... 11 10 - 21
 
FOULS BY PERIOD       1  2  Tot
-------------------------------
Middlebury..........  3  2 -  5
Trinity (Conn.).....  0  0 -  0
 
TURNOVERS BY PRD      1  2  Tot
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Middlebury..........  3  2 -  5
Trinity (Conn.).....  8  9 - 17

2008-04-12